Federal authorities say the number of E. coli cases linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders rises to 75

CNN
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The E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders has resulted in 75 illnesses in 13 states, including 22 hospitalizations and one death. This is according to new data released on Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration.

Two of the hospitalized patients had hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious complication that can develop from an E. coli infection. The older adult who died had underlying medical conditions but did not develop this syndrome.

The CDC opened the investigation on Tuesday and initially reported 49 cases in 10 states – including 10 hospitalizations and one death. It can take weeks to determine whether a disease is part of an outbreak, and those numbers were expected to rise.

According to the CDC, most of the illnesses associated with the outbreak continue to occur in Colorado. Michigan, New Mexico and Washington were also added to the list of states with reported illnesses, along with Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. However, the agency notes that the outbreak may extend beyond these states.

Federal authorities say they are still working to confirm the specific source of the bacteria, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the onion slices or beef patties on Quarter Pounder sandwiches are the likely source of the contamination.

According to the FDA, all of those surveyed said they had eaten at McDonald's, and the vast majority had eaten a beef hamburger.

“The FDA is using all available tools to confirm whether onions are the cause of this outbreak,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. “This includes working with federal and state partners and the companies involved to collect and evaluate records and sales information as part of our traceability investigation. FDA and state partners are also collecting onion samples for analysis.”

McDonald's has removed Quarter Pounders from the menu at about a fifth of its locations. The company has stopped using the onions and quarter-pound beef patties in several states – Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma – and the investigation continues. the CDC said.

McDonald's supplier Taylor Farms has removed yellow onions from the market “out of an abundance of caution,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. and distributor US Foods has issued a recall of four onion products due to “potential E. coli contamination.”

Given these measures, the CDC said Friday that the additional risk is “very low.”

But on Friday, McDonald's announced in a statement that it would no longer purchase onions from the Taylor Farms plant in Colorado Springs indefinitely.

Onions from that facility were distributed to approximately 900 McDonald's restaurants in Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming and parts of other states in the region, McDonald's said. Some of these sites were at transportation hubs such as airports, which could account for the broader spread of disease.

“At McDonald's we never compromise on food safety. “Customers can rely on McDonald’s to do the right thing, and health authorities can rely on McDonald’s continued strong partnership,” the fast food chain said in a statement. All other menu items are “untouched and available,” it said.

The FDA confirmed that yellow onions were sold by Taylor Farms to additional food service customers. Some other major fast-food chains that received onions from Taylor Farms — including Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC — have removed fresh onions from their menus at some locations.