Initially, 49 individuals were ill and one person passed away from an E. coli incident connected to the fast food restaurant.
After a menu item was connected to a widespread E. coli outbreak that affected ten US states, McDonald’s took “swift action.”
On October 22, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it has begun an inquiry into a bacterial infection outbreak connected to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers.
With 49 confirmed cases, 10 hospitalizations, and one fatality, the outbreak is now said to be touching more than the ten states that were first reported—Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.
The Quarter Pounder will no longer be served in restaurants in affected areas “out of an abundance of caution,” and McDonald’s confirmed in a statement that it has stopped using “slivered onions,” which are “sourced by a single supplier that serves three distribution centers.”
Additionally, McDonald’s USA president has spoken out about the epidemic.
During an appearance on the Today show, McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger confirmed the chain took ‘swift and decisive action’ to ‘remove the Quarter Pounder’ from its menu and that the ‘quarter pounder and two ingredients on that quarter pounder are under investigation by the CDC’.
He added: “We are working in close partnership with our suppliers to replenish supply for the Quarter Pounder in the coming weeks (timing will vary by local market). In the meantime, all other menu items, including other beef products (including the Cheeseburger, Hamburger, Big Mac, McDouble and the Double Cheeseburger) are unaffected and available.”
President Erlinger also urged consumers they can still ‘confidently go to McDonald’s’ and ‘enjoy [the] classics’ because ‘food safety is [its] top priority’.
He shared: “It’s the top priority in this building where I am, at the McDonald’s headquarters. It’s a top priority in our nearly 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. It’s the top priority for our suppliers as well.”
Erlinger added that McDonald’s will keep its patrons informed about the probe.
“Our founder famously said, ‘If you take care of our customers, the business will take care of itself’.”
