LOS ANGELES– McDonald’s announced Sunday that Quarter Pounders will once again appear on the menu at hundreds of its restaurants after tests ruled out the beef patties as the cause of the E. coli poisoning outbreak linked to the popular burgers that killed one person and sickened at least 75 others across the country. 13 states.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to believe that sliced onions from a single supplier are the likely source of contamination, McDonald’s said in a statement. It said it would resume selling the Quarter Pounder at affected restaurants – without chopped onions – in the coming week.
As of Friday, the outbreak had spread to at least 75 sick people in 13 states, federal health officials said. A total of 22 people were hospitalized and two developed a dangerous complication of kidney disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. One person has died in Colorado.
Initial information analyzed by the FDA showed that uncooked sliced onions used on hamburgers “are a likely source of contamination,” the agency said. McDonald’s confirmed that Taylor Farms, a California-based production company, was the supplier of the fresh onions used in restaurants involved in the outbreak and that they came from a facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
McDonald’s removed the Quarter Pounder burger from menus in several states — primarily in the Midwest and Mountain states — when the outbreak was announced Tuesday. McDonald’s said Friday that sliced onions from its Colorado Springs facility had been distributed to about 900 of its restaurants, including some in transportation hubs like airports.
The company said it removed sliced onions from that facility from its supply chain on Tuesday. McDonald’s said it has decided to stop sourcing onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility “indefinitely.”
The 900 McDonald’s restaurants that normally received chopped onions from the Taylor Farms plant in Colorado Springs will resume sales of Quarter Pounders without chopped onions, McDonald’s said.
Testing by the Colorado Department of Agriculture ruled out beef patties as the source of the outbreak, McDonald’s said.
The Department of Agriculture received several batches of fresh and frozen beef patties collected from various McDonald’s locations in Colorado associated with the E. coli investigation. All samples tested negative for E. coli, the department said.
Taylor Farms said Friday that it has preemptively recalled yellow onions sent to customers from its Colorado facilities and continues to work with the CDC and FDA as part of their investigation.
Although it is unclear whether the recalled onions were the cause of the outbreak, several other fast food restaurants – including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King – have removed onions from certain menus in some locations. regions this week.
Colorado had the highest number of illnesses reported Friday, with 26 cases. At least 13 people have fallen ill in Montana, 11 in Nebraska, 5 in New Mexico and Utah, 4 in Missouri and Wyoming, two in Michigan and one each in Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Wisconsin and Washington state, the CDC reported.
McDonald’s said Friday it had not removed the Quarter Pounder from any additional restaurants and noted that some cases in states outside the original region were travel-related.
The CDC said some people who became ill reported traveling to other states before their symptoms appeared. At least three people reported eating at McDonald’s during their trip. Illnesses were reported between September 27 and October 11.
The outbreak involves infections with E. coli 0157:H7, a type of bacteria that produces a dangerous toxin. It causes about 74,000 infections each year in the United States, leading to more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths each year, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of E. coli poisoning can occur quickly, within a day or two after eating contaminated food. They usually include fever, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea and signs of dehydration – little or no urine, increased thirst and dizziness. The infection is particularly dangerous for children under 5 years old, the elderly, pregnant women or those with weakened immune systems.
—-
Associated Press writer JoNel Aleccia contributed reporting from Temecula, California.
