McDonald’s said Sunday it’s “very confident” that products related to the E. coli outbreak have been removed from the supply chain and all restaurants. It also confirmed the issue is contained in a specific ingredient and geography.
The fast-food giant traced the incident to slivered onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility. McDonald’s removed slivered onions from this factory and its supply chain on October 22 and decided to stop sourcing onions from this factory indefinitely.
As of October 24, 75 people across 13 states have been infected amid the outbreak. Among the 61 patients with information available, an older adult in Colorado has died, 22 have been hospitalized, and two have developed a serious condition that causes kidney failure. Of the 42 people interviewed, all reported eating at McDonald’s and 86 percent reported eating a Quarter Pounder.
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Testing from the Colorado Department of Agriculture confirmed there was no E. coli in the Quarter Pounder beef patties. No further testing is planned. McDonald’s will resume distributing a fresh supply of beef patties, and the Quarter Pounder is expected to be available in all locations in the coming week.
The 900 McDonald’s restaurants that historically receive slivered onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility will resume selling Quarter Pounders without slivered onions. Those stores are based in Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.
Following the link between E. coli and McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, Yum! Brands, Burger King, US Foods, and other food companies recalled onions from certain restaurants.
McDonald’s cautioned that E. coli case counts will grow because of increased awareness. Although slivered onions were distributed to other restaurants and foodservice providers, the continuing investigation will likely focus on those who visited McDonald’s, which will result in more cases being linked to the burger chain.
“It was especially important to all of us—across the entire System—when CDC noted that our proactive steps resulted in the risk to the public being ‘very low.'” Cesar Piña, SVP, chief supply chain officer, North America, said in a statement. “This was also a reminder of how our values must guide us every single day: we put people first, and we do the right thing.”
According to the CDC, symptoms usually start three to four days after consuming contaminated food, and most people recover without treatment after five to seven days. It can take three to four weeks for public health agencies to confirm if an ill person is part of the outbreak.
“On behalf of the McDonald’s system, I want you to hear from me: we are sorry,” U.S. president Joe Erlinger said in a statement. “For those customers affected, you have my COMMITMENT that, led by our values: we will make this right. As we move forward, I want to reassure you that customers can CONTINUE to count on McDonald’s to ALWAYS do the right thing.”
