Quarter Pounders of cheese, fries and drinks are served at a McDonald’s restaurant in El Sobrante, California on October 23, 2024.
David Paul Morris | David Paul Morris Bloomberg | Getty Images
90 people infected in 13 states Deadly E. coli outbreak link to McDonald’s quarter poundThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday it was continuing to investigate the source of the spread.
The outbreak has resulted in 27 hospitalizations of an elderly person in Colorado, and there were reports of an elderly person dying.
Before Wednesday, the CDC last gave Latest epidemic situation On Friday, the agency said it had identified 75 cases in 13 states. The agency first declared the outbreak on Oct. 22.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website Wednesday that fresh onion sticks on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers and other menu items “may be the source of the outbreak.”
The additional illnesses came from McDonald’s and Taylor Farms, two companies that previously supplied onions to the affected areas, took action The agency added that the ingredient was removed from affected areas. The CDC considers the risk to the public to be “very low” due to the efforts of McDonald’s and Taylor Farms.
“The likelihood that contaminated onions will still be available for sale is low,” the agency wrote.
The Quarter Pounder is a core menu item at McDonald’s, earning billions of dollars in revenue annually. The fast-food giant said Sunday The burgers will be back The company removed the menu item from shelves due to the outbreak, and this week the menu has reached about 1 in 5 U.S. restaurants, about 3,000 restaurants.
But for the foreseeable future, about 900 of those locations will be offering the Quarter Pounder without the sliced onions as the CDC and other health authorities continue to examine the source of the outbreak. The change will affect Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming as well as Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Restaurants in parts of Utah.
