An E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers has left one person dead and 10 others hospitalised, according to officials.
Forty-nine cases of E. coli have been reported in connection with the outbreak in Colorado and Nebraska in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
The investigation began on Tuesday and the contaminated ingredient is yet to be established. But investigators say Quarter Pounder burgers will no longer be available “in some states.”
“This is a fast-moving outbreak investigation,” the CDC said. “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.”
Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA released a video statement in response to the outbreak.
He said: “I wanted to take a minute to provide you with an update that we’re communicating broadly, because food safety is so important to me and everyone at McDonald’s.
“Today, after close consultation with regulatory authorities, including the CDC, USDA, and FDA, we’ve taken steps to proactively remove slivered onions, which are used in Quarter Pounders, from restaurants in select states.
“We also made the decision to temporarily remove the Quarter Pounder from restaurants in select states.”
He stressed “the majority of states and the majority of menu items are not affected,” and that other beef products including the popular Cheeseburger, Hamburger, Big Mac, McDouble, and Double Cheeseburger had not been impacted.
Cesar Piña, McDonald’s North America chief supply chain officer, said in an internal message to staff that “swift and decisive action” is being taken.
He said: “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.”
The CDC said McDonald’s has stopped using “fresh slivered onions and quarter-pound beef patties in several states,” but did not specify which.
Piña shed more light on the situation as he announced that Quarter Pounders would be off the menu in Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
At this stage, the illnesses have been recorded in just Colorado and Nebraska.
“McDonald’s is proactively making these changes while investigators work to confirm the contaminated ingredient,” officials said.
Customers have been urged to seek medical care if they ate a Quarter Pounder and have any of the following symptoms:
- Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
- Diarrhea for more than three days that is not improving
- Bloody diarrhea
- So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
- Signs of dehydration, such as:
- Not peeing much
- Dry mouth and throat
- Feeling dizzy when standing up