Sliced onions are likely the source of multistate infection Escherichia coli The outbreak is linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burger and continues to spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.
When the CDC announced the outbreak on October 22, onions were one of the two main suspects, the other being beef patties used in hamburgers. But onions soon became a prime suspect. A day after the CDC’s announcement, McDonald’s onion supplier Taylor Farms recalled peeled and diced yellow onion products, and several other fast food chains also removed onions from their menus as a precaution. (So far, no other restaurants have been linked to the outbreak.)
According to the CDC, all tracking information and epidemiological data collected since then point to onions. According to McDonald’sAll state and federal tests on the beef patty came back negative.
In Wednesday’s update, the CDC reported that 15 additional people were confirmed sick in the outbreak, five of whom were hospitalized. This brings the total number of infections to 90, including 27 hospitalizations and one death, spread across 13 states.
All of the newly reported illnesses occurred prior to the October 23 onion recall. The most recent onset of illness was October 16th. It may take three to four weeks for illnesses and outbreaks to be linked, so additional illnesses may be reported.
“Due to the product measures taken by McDonald’s and Taylor Farms, CDC believes the ongoing risk to the public is very low,” the agency said in a media alert.
McDonald’s announced this week that it would put the Quarter Pounder without onions back on menus at affected restaurants. Before the recall, there were 900 locations in Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming, as well as parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah. restaurants received onions from Taylor Farms.
