On Wednesday, McDonald’s stated that its customers should feel at ease when ordering food from their restaurants, despite a deadly E. coli outbreak in the United States linked to their quarter pounder hamburgers.
The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states across the country, and one person has died.
A preliminary investigation conducted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicates that fresh onions served raw on Quarter Pounder hamburgers were a likely source of contamination. The company stated on Wednesday that they are already looking for a new regional supplier of fresh onions, and that Quarter Pounder burgers have been removed from the menus in one-fifth of their restaurants in the United States.
McDonald's stated that it has been working closely with food safety regulatory agencies since the end of last week when it was alerted to the possible outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States reported the outbreak on Tuesday afternoon. The agency noted that infections were reported between September 27 and October 11 in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In Colorado, one person died and 10 others were hospitalized.
State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the food they consumed the week before their illness. Out of the 18 people interviewed, all reported eating at McDonald's, and 16 of them said they had consumed a beef burger. Twelve reported having eaten a quarter pounder.
McDonald's states that the investigation has been complicated due to the magnitude of the problem. The company pointed out that it serves one million quarter-pound hamburgers in the affected areas every two weeks. It also mentioned that this strain of E. coli is not usually found in onions.
McDonald's reported that, according to their initial findings, some of the reported illnesses are related to onions from a single supplier. McDonald's stated that this supplier is responsible for cleaning and slicing the onions, and also conducts periodic tests to detect E. coli. The product is packaged for individual use in Quarter Pounder burgers.
McDonald's indicated that it has extensive food safety practices and that none of the findings from government investigations have indicated any issues with the preparation of their food.