A McDonald’s supplier recalled yellow onions produced at a Colorado plant following a fatal reaction E. coli outbreak in fast food chain
Taylor Farms, which supplies onions to McDonald’s franchises that are the subject of a multi-state investigation by health officials, said it was removing the products “out of an abundance of caution” and did not find traces of E. coli.
The Food and Drug Administration has identified Taylor Farms onions as a “potential source of contamination” and has launched an investigation into the supplier, CNBC reported Thursday.
However, the FDA said they are still looking at all possible sources, and said the investigation is ongoing.
The post sought comment from Taylor Farms and McDonald’s.
“Taylor Farms Colorado removed yellow onions produced from our Colorado facility from the market. “We will continue to work closely with the FDA and CDC during this ongoing investigation,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.
McDonald’s removed its Quarter Pounders from the menu at a fifth of its locations on Tuesday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said one person died and dozens of others were hospitalized due to E. coli linked to the burgers. .
“We fully expect to see more cases,” CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.
“McDonald’s has hopefully taken swift action to prevent as many cases as possible.”
A Colorado man has filed the first lawsuit against McDonald’s over an E. coli outbreak. Eric Staley alleged in a court petition filed in Cook County, Illinois that he purchased food from a Greeley, Col., McDonald’s franchise on October 4. Two days later, he said he started experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, stomach cramps. Blood in stool.
On October 8, he arrived at the emergency room, where medical staff confirmed through tests that he had been poisoned by E. coli. According to his lawyer.
Of the 50 incidents in the West and Midwest, Colorado has the most cases, and one older adult has died.
The FDA launched a preliminary investigation that found that fresh chopped onions served raw on Quarter Pounder hamburgers were the likely source of contamination.
McDonald’s also serves raw, chopped onions in its breakfast sandwiches, but that sandwich is not available at the affected stores. Other burgers, such as the Big Mac, use chopped, cooked onions.
McDonald’s said it is looking for a new regional supplier for fresh onions.
Meanwhile, Quarter Pounders were removed from menus in Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming and parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Infections were reported between September 27 and October 11 in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
State and local public health officials were interviewing people about foods they ate in the week before they became ill.
Of the 18 people interviewed as of Tuesday, all reported eating at McDonald’s, and 16 reported eating hamburgers. Twelve reported eating a Quarter Pounder.
McDonald’s said it has worked closely with federal food safety regulators since late last week, when it was alerted to the possible outbreak.
The company said efforts to identify the contamination source have been complicated by the scope of the problem and the popularity of its products.
McDonald’s has more than 14,000 U.S. stores and serves 1 million Quarter Pounders every two weeks in the affected 12-state region.
Meanwhile, Yum Brands said Thursday it will definitely remove fresh onions from its food Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants Out of “an abundance of caution”.
with post wire
