McDonald’s is grappling with a serious E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder burgers, resulting in 49 confirmed cases and one death across 10 states.
According to CNBC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerted the fast-food giant late last week.
After receiving notification, McDonald’s engaged with multiple federal agencies, including the CDC, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Food and Drug Administration. The company has proactively removed Quarter Pounder burgers from approximately 20% of its U.S. restaurants, particularly in affected areas including Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, and parts of eight other states.
Investigation details reveal that among 18 interviewed patients, 12 reported consuming Quarter Pounder burgers before falling ill. The outbreak period has been identified between September 27 and October 11, during which McDonald’s typically sells approximately one million Quarter Pounders in the affected region.
The CDC’s investigation is focusing on two potential sources: uncooked onions and beef patties. Since McDonald’s uses multiple beef suppliers and follows strict cooking temperatures that should eliminate bacteria, investigators are leaning toward onions as the source of the contamination.
The company sources onions from a single supplier in the affected region who handles the washing and slicing process. Multiple media sources have confirmed California-based Taylor Farms, a McDonald’s supplier, has now issued a recall of its onions even though the company said it has found no presence of E. coli yet.
However, prior to the recall, McDonald’s had already suspended onion distribution and instructed local restaurants to remove existing onion supplies.
The timing of this outbreak poses significant challenges for McDonald’s, which has been working to attract customers back through value meal deals following years of price increases. The company’s North American chief supply chain officer, Cesar Pina, issued a statement Tuesday evening confirming the removal of Quarter Pounders from affected locations.
In a statement to Bloomberg News, McDonald’s said, “After being notified by the CDC last week, we were in daily contact and worked in lockstep to investigate. As soon as we identified that a subset of illnesses may be linked to slivered onions used in the Quarter Pounder, we made the decision to remove product from restaurants in affected regions. Instructions for product to be removed were sent early this week, ahead of the CDC’s public advisory notice.”
The market has responded negatively to the news, with McDonald’s shares dropping 5% in afternoon trading as investors express concerns about potential sales impacts.
The incident is far from over as officials expect the number of E. coli cases to increase. Two lawsuits have already been filed against McDonald’s with more expected in the near future.
