Public health officials in the United States (US) are investigating an outbreak of E. coli infections in multiple states which have been linked to McDonald’s quarter pounders.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is investigating 49 illnesses in 10 states linked to the hamburgers.
“Most sick people are reporting eating quarter pounder hamburgers from McDonald’s and investigators are working quickly to confirm which food ingredient is contaminated.
“McDonald’s has pulled ingredients for these burgers, and they won’t be available for sale in some states,” the CDC outlined.
The CDC said it is also working with the the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and public health officials on the “fast-moving outbreak investigation”.
The centre added that McDonald’s is “collaborating with investigation partners to determine what food ingredient in quarter pounders is making people sick”.
It added that the fast food restaurant has “stopped using fresh slivered onions and quarter pound beef patties in several states while the investigation is ongoing to identify the ingredient causing illness.”
CDC
According to the CDC early information from FDA indicates that “onions may be a source of this outbreak” linked to McDonald’s quarter pounders.
The centre has detailed that the first case of illness was notified on September 27 and that it has affected people between the ages of 13 to 88 years
The CDC stated yesterday (Tuesday, October 22): “Of 28 people with information available, 10 have been hospitalised, and one person developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure.
“One death has been reported from an older adult in Colorado.”
It has also warned that the “true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported” and that the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses.
McDonald’s
In an internal message McDonald’s North America chief supply chain officer, Cesar Pina, said that “across the McDonald’s system, serving customers safely in every single restaurant, each and every day, is our top priority and something we’ll never compromise on”.
Pina also told the fast food restaurant’s employees that it was “taking swift and decisive action following an E. coli outbreak in certain states”.
“The initial findings from the investigation indicate that a subset of illnesses may be linked to slivered onions used in the quarter pounder and sourced by a single supplier that serves three distribution centers.
“As a result, and in line with our safety protocols, all local restaurants have been instructed to remove this product from their supply and we have paused the distribution of all slivered onions in the impacted area.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are also temporarily removing the quarter pounder from restaurants in the impacted area, including Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma” he added.
Pina also stressed that Donald’s takes “food safety extremely seriously”.
