McDonald’s Quarter Pounders are now directly linked to an alarming E. coli outbreak that has sickened dozens of people, hospitalized 10, and caused the death of an older adult. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states, with Colorado and Nebraska taking the hardest hit.
Common to many of the sick was a Quarter Pounder burger. The contamination led one patient to develop the life-threatening condition hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause kidney failure, and already a Colorado resident has died. CDC warned that many of those infected may not even have known it.
How contaminated onions in Quarter Pounders brought McDonalds to its knees
It’s not a few upset stomachs. Lives are at risk, and people are in hospitals, but McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest fast-food chains, is now scrambling to contain the fallout. In response to the damage, McDonald’s has pulled Quarter-Pounders off the menu in several Western states, including Colorado, Kansas, Utah, and Wyoming. At the heart of the problem? For these burgers, slivered onions from a single source.
After this deadly outbreak, McDonald’s stock fell almost 7% in after-hours trading. The fast-food giant insists it is taking “swift and decisive action” by halting the distribution of these potentially dangerous onions. But will it be enough?
McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger says the reason is to calm fears that other popular items, like the Big Mac and double cheeseburger, are also affected. Yet the firm’s flagship, the Quarter Pounder, is now up for grabs. This crisis could leave a lasting stain on a company that makes billions off this burger.
Here is the full statement from the president of McDonald’s USA:
“We are working quickly to return our full menu in these states as soon as possible. I hope these steps demonstrate McDonald’s commitment to food safety,”
Unfortunately, this isn’t McDonald’s’s first involvement in an E. coli horror story. Last year, children in Alabama were hospitalized after getting sick from the same Chicken McNuggets. But with yet another incident resulting in a death, McDonald’s is under pressure to prove it can keep its food safe.
The symptoms of E. coli can be as mild as stomach cramps and vomiting or as severe as life-threatening ones, and recovery is not always easy. But some won’t recover in a week. It’s not under control, as the CDC warned that more cases may present themselves.
Image credits: Furkan Demirkaya/Ideogram
