E. Coli Outbreak Tied to McDonald’s Expands to 14 States, 104 Infected

Federal health and food safety officials said Wednesday that the E. coli outbreak linked to slivered onions used on McDonald’s hamburgers has spread to more states and sickened more people, including additional hospitalizations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided updates on Nov. 13 on their respective investigations into the E. coli outbreak, noting that the number of cases has risen to 104 across 14 states.
In its latest update, the CDC said that new infections and hospitalizations have been reported, adding that the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses and the true number of cases is likely “much higher” than has been reported. That’s because many people infected with E. coli recover without seeking medical attention and aren’t tested for the bacteria.
McDonald’s stopped using slivered onions on Quarter Pounders in affected states and the supplier of the yellow onions, Taylor Farms, recalled the product on Oct. 22.
“FDA continues working with Taylor Farms and their direct customers to determine if additional downstream customer recalls are necessary,” the agency stated. “Food service customers should not be further distributing recalled onions.”
The CDC said there’s a “low” likelihood of contaminated onions still being available for sale.
“Because these onions were recalled and are no longer available for sale to food service operators, it is not necessary to avoid eating onions or other foods made with onions,” the agency stated.
“Food safety is something we will never compromise on, and we remain committed to doing the right thing,” McDonald’s said. “Thank you to all the public health authorities for their partnership and collaboration, which allowed McDonald’s to take swift and decisive action to protect our customers and public health.”