McDonald’s and multiple government agencies are still investigating the source of an E. coli outbreak linked to the fast food giant’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers, and the company confirmed Wednesday that beef has not been ruled out as the potential cause.
The CDC said in an alert Tuesday that the agency, along with the FDA, the USDA, the FSIS and public health officials in several states, are investigating after 49 people fell ill, most of whom reported eating Quarter Pounders before getting sick. There have been ten hospitalizations and one death linked to the outbreak.
McDonald’s North America chief supply chain officer Cesar Piña said in an internal statement following the CDC’s announcement that the company is “taking swift and decisive action” to address the outbreak, and reported, “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.”
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The company has already pulled the fresh slivered onions and quarter pound beef patties from inventory and has temporarily stopped selling the Quarter Pounder in areas with reported cases, including the states of Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
McDonald’s spokespeople said Wednesday that the CDC informed the company of the outbreak last week, and the company is working with the agencies involved to determine whether beef or onions — the two ingredients in the sandwich that could be carriers for E. coli — are the cause.
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But if beef is the source, it would mean multiple McDonald’s restaurants did not cook the patties to the standard 175 degrees required by the chain, given that E. coli is killed at 160 degrees.
McDonald’s is also looking closely at the fresh slivered onions used as a topping because they are a raw ingredient that came from a single source. However, if the onions are determined to be the cause, it would be the first time onions have been the source of an outbreak of this particular strain of E. coli — E. coli O157:H7.
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The CDC advises that anyone who experiences severe E. coli symptoms such as high fever, diarrhea, vomiting or dehydration after eating a Quarter Pounder should call their healthcare provider.
