Seventy-five people. That is the CDC’s count, released Friday, of illnesses tied to an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. On Tuesday the figure was 49.
Cases span 13 states. Colorado has the most with 26, followed by Montana with 13. The rest are in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Illnesses began between Sept. 27 and Oct. 10.
Of 61 people the CDC has information on, 22 were hospitalized, up from 10. Two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a kidney condition that can cause permanent failure or death. Those two, one teenager and one adult, are among the severe cases. One death was reported in Colorado, a resident of Mesa County, according to the county health department. Patients range in age from 13 to 88, and most are men.
“I think there will most certainly be more illnesses reported,” said Matt Wise, chief of the CDC’s Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch. The agency said the real total is probably far higher. Many people recover without care and are never tested, and it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to link a sick person to an outbreak.
The onions
Investigators interviewed 42 sick people. All had eaten at McDonald’s, and most specifically mentioned a Quarter Pounder. The FDA and CDC have focused on the slivered onions served on the burger, calling them a “likely source of contamination”. They have not ruled out the beef patties. Both ingredients are unique to the Quarter Pounder, since the chain’s other sandwiches use rehydrated diced onions.
McDonald’s confirmed that Taylor Farms supplied the sliced onions. Late Friday it said slivered onions from a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado Springs went to roughly 900 restaurants in Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming and portions of other states, some of them in airports, “which may account for illnesses in other states”.
The chain has pulled the onions and the Quarter Pounder patties in question from restaurants in at least 12 states. Because they are gone, the CDC says the risk to the public is now low. McDonald’s said it removed all slivered onions from that Taylor Farms facility as of Oct. 22 and will stop sourcing onions from the site indefinitely. “Nothing is more important to us than the quality and safety of our food,” the company said.
Taylor Farms recalled four raw onion products on Wednesday. Spokesperson Rachel Molatore said the company is working with the CDC and FDA, and that its products now on the market are safe to eat. Taco Bell, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut and Illegal Pete’s removed onions from Colorado menus as a precaution.
Two people who say they fell ill have sued McDonald’s. Their lawyer, Ron Simon, said he represents 15 people in all.
Sources
- E. coli cases linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders rise to 75 across 13 states: CDC
- Illnesses linked to McDonald's E. coli outbreak rise to 75, CDC says
