McDonald’s scrambled on Wednesday (October 24) to contain the damage from an E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounder burgers that has killed one person and sickened nearly 50 others, as it pulled the menu item from restaurants across a dozen states.
The outbreak has sickened people across the U.S. West and Midwest, with 10 hospitalized due to serious complications, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is investigating the outbreak. A McDonald’s spokesperson said the outbreak is limited to the United States.
The CDC and McDonald’s are scrutinizing the Chicago-based company’s supplies of slivered onions and beef patties as they try to determine the cause of the outbreak, the company said.
University of Guelph Food Science Professor Keith Warriner said onions can become contaminated in the field, when cow manure containing E. coli comes in contact with water that then comes in contact with the onion.
Warriner said climate change can increase the number of similar events by causing more flooding events and because pathogens like E. coli tend to live longer at higher temperatures.
McDonald’s pulled the Quarter Pounder from its menu at a fifth of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants, specifically in locations in Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, and in parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Previous E. coli outbreaks at big U.S. fast-food chains have caused consumers to shun those chains for months but McDonald’s customers who spoke to Reuters expressed trust in the company and government procedures.
(REUTERS)
