United States: More people are getting sick from an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported. The number of people sickened has risen from 90 to 104 across 14 states. Of those infected, 34 have been hospitalized, four developed serious kidney problems, and sadly, one person died in Colorado.
The virus resurfaced in the company operating in Madison, Wisconsin since October 22 and has been traced to raw slivered onions used on Quarter Pounder burgers.
As reported by the USA Today, McDonalds had previously said Taylor Farms that it had been supplying onions to McDonald’s in the regions affected by E. coli illnesses and parent company US Foods had issued a recall on raw diced peeled and whole peeled onions made by Taylor on October 22. But the Taylor Farms Colorado onions that were recalled were not directly linked with the company’s decision to pull out Quarter Pounders, according to the company.
McDonald later posted a new message on its website after the update was launched on Wednesday saying that it had found a new source for the product to serve the 900 restaurants that had stopped preparing Quarter Pounder burgers with slivered onions.
These restaurants have recently restored the availability of Quarter Pounders with onions over the past week, the company added. It also reproduced the assertions made by the FDA that that there ‘does not seem to be a sustained beef>food< safety concern associated with the outbreak at McDonald fast foods.
”Food safety is a thing that we will never compromise on and for that reason, we continue to do what is right,” McDonalds press statement. “Special gratitude goes out to all the public health authorities for their assistance and cooperation in helping McDonald’s respond quickly to the situation to ensure the safety of our customers and public health.”
E. coli poisoning symptoms
Although the vast majority of Escherichia coli (E. coli) are harmless gastrointestinal bacteria that are carried by most people and animals. Some can produce moderate to severe gastrointestinal diseases if ingested and this is according to CDC.
The USDA explains that signs of E. coli poisoning start to manifest between 2nd and 8th days after consumption and they only linger for roughly one week.