The horrific headlines say it all as the latest E. coli outbreak in the United States is leading to heartache and a rush for some major chains to pull onions from their menus.
“Colorado Teen Fights Kidney Failure After Eating McDonald’s Quarter Pounders”
“CDC Says Slivered Onions Probably Caused McDonald’s E. Coli Infections as Cases Rise to 90”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the “CDC, FDA, USDA-FSIS, and public health officials in multiple states are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. Most people in this outbreak are reporting eating the Quarter Pounder hamburger at McDonald’s before becoming sick. McDonald’s stopped using slivered onions on the Quarter Pounder hamburger in some states to try to prevent more people from getting sick.”
The CDC say that epidemiologic and traceback information show that fresh, slivered onions are the likely source of illness in this outbreak. Taylor Farms, the supplier of slivered onions to the affected McDonald’s locations also recalled onions. Food service businesses were contacted directly by Taylor Farms. The likelihood of contaminated onions still being available for sale is low.
To date there have been:
- Cases: 90
- Hospitalizations: 15
- Deaths: 1
- States: 13
Here is a rundown on E. coli and its dangers.
Some Major Chains Play It Safe with Onion Recall
Food Safety Magazine reported that national food wholesaler U.S. Foods has issued a recall of yellow onions in various forms due to potential E. coli contamination.
“The recalled onions were sourced from a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado, a third-party supplier to U.S. Foods. The recall of Taylor Farms onions impacts six U.S. Foods distribution centers in the region affected by the McDonald’s outbreak,” says the magazine.
As a precaution, major chains pulled onions from the menu in select locations of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Burger King.
“As we continue to monitor the recently reported E. coli outbreak, and out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed fresh onions from select Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants. We will continue following supplier and regulatory guidance to ensure the ongoing safety and quality of our food,” a spokesperson for Yum Brands told Nation’s Restaurant News.
Burger King also told the publication that “We have reviewed our restaurant supply given recent announcements. There is no crossover with McDonald’s for the vast majority of our onion facilities. About 5 percent of our restaurants do receive onions distributed from the Taylor Farms Colorado facility. Burger King only uses whole fresh onions, and our team members then cut them, peel them, wash them and slice them fresh in our restaurants every day. Despite no contact from health authorities and no indications of illness, we proactively asked our 5 percent of restaurants who received whole onions distributed by this facility to dispose of them immediately two days ago and we are in the process of restocking them from other facilities.”
McDonald’s Statements on E. Coli Outbreak
McDonald’s released a lengthy internal statement on the E. coli outbreak on Oct. 27, 2024:
Dear McDonald’s USA,
Our commitment to food safety isn’t the responsibility of any one person, team, department, or leg of the stool.
Our commitment to food safety is everyone’s primary responsibility, and this week we’ve been reminded why.
First, I want to thank once again the health authorities with whom we’ve been partnering. They can count on McDonald’s continued close partnership in their vital work, now and well into the future.
As someone who has worked in food safety for two decades, it has been meaningful to see the strong partnership between McDonald’s and public health officials, including CDC, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Department of Agriculture, USDA, FSIS, and FDA.
It was especially important to all of us—across the entire System—when CDC noted that our proactive steps resulted in the risk to the public being “very low.”
This was also a reminder of how our values must guide us every single day: we put people first, and we do the right thing.
The issue appears to be contained to a particular ingredient and geography, and we remain very confident that any contaminated product related to this outbreak has been removed from our supply chain and is out of all McDonald’s restaurants.
That said, health officials have noted that with increased awareness, more people will seek medical attention and case counts will grow. This awareness is a good thing, as it can lead to people being vigilant and connecting with medical professionals.
As the CDC has shared, symptoms usually start 3 to 4 days after consuming contaminated food, and most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days. That said, it can take 3-4 weeks for public health agencies to confirm if an ill person is part of the outbreak.
We understand these slivered onions from this facility were distributed well beyond McDonald’s System to other quick service restaurants and food service providers.
We are committed to making this right for any customers who have eaten at McDonald’s and suffered an illness as a result of the outbreak.
As Joe shared last week, we will continue to be guided by our principles while managing this situation and earning our customers’ trust:
- Continue to do the right thing
- Partner closely with health authorities and let science lead our decision making
- Take swift and decisive action
- Deploy the full breadth of our resources
- Continue to communicate quickly and transparently
With that, there are a few important updates that we’d like to share.
- Over the weekend, McDonald’s was informed that the Colorado Department of Agriculture has completed their testing, the results of which confirm that there was no detection of E. coli in the samples taken of Quarter Pounder beef patties from restaurants in this area. We’ve been informed there is no further testing planned for beef patties.
- Overlaying the CDC's Epidemiological data with our Supply Chain traceback data, we have ruled out Quarter Pounder patties as the source.
- Last week, out of an abundance of caution, we stopped distributing Quarter Pounder beef patties to the impacted area. Based on the above information, we are now confident in asking our beef suppliers to produce a new supply of fresh beef patties for the impacted areas. We will resume distribution of that fresh supply and the Quarter Pounder is expected to be available in all restaurants in the coming week. This will be on a rolling basis based on delivery and resupply operations.
- The 900 restaurants that historically received slivered onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility will resume sales of Quarter Pounders without slivered onions. Those restaurants are in Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.
- A brief FAQ document is available here and for more information on McDonald’s Food Safety see here.
The FDA is continuing its investigation into Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility. As a reminder, McDonald’s removed slivered onions from this facility from our supply chain on October 22 and shared that we had decided to stop sourcing onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility indefinitely. Over the past few days, you’ve likely seen that additional food service providers and restaurant brands that received onions from this facility have moved to stop selling and/or recall onions.
I want to thank all of you for your support, for your efforts to promote public health, and for upholding our core values.
Cesar Piña SVP, Chief Supply Chain Officer, North America
Importance of Traceability Amid Recall is Highlighted
This unfortunate incident has highlighted the importance of traceability amid recalls those pose public health threats.
“Food safety experts are stressing that the McDonald's outbreak and the time sensitivity of confirming an implicated ingredient and supplier is a reminder of the importance of solid traceability and adherence to national standards,” Food Safety Magazine reported.
In a statement to Food Safety Magazine, the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) said, “Situations like this one are a good reminder about the importance of states adopting the FDA Food Code to protect communities across state lines... This particular outbreak also underscores the importance of the new FDA Food Traceability Final Rule [also known as FSMA 204], which will require recordkeeping beyond existing regulations to be able to rapidly trace and remove potentially contaminated food from the market.”
Traceability with software such as FreshByte’s is the ability to track a food product's journey from its origin to the consumer. It's like a detective story, following a product's path through every step of the supply chain. This information is crucial during food recalls because it helps to:
- Identify contaminated products quickly:Traceability allows companies to pinpoint the exact products that are affected by a recall, minimizing the impact on consumers and the wider market.
- Isolate the source of contamination: By tracing the product's path, companies can identify the point where the contamination occurred, helping to prevent future incidents.
- Effectively remove affected products:Traceability enables companies to efficiently locate and remove contaminated products from shelves and distribution channels, reducing the risk of harm to consumers.
- Communicate with consumers: Traceability helps companies provide accurate and timely information to consumers about affected products, enabling them to make informed decisions.
- Rebuild consumer trust: By demonstrating transparency and responsibility during a recall, companies can help restore consumer confidence in their brand.
In short, traceability is like a safety net for food safety. It helps companies respond quickly and effectively to recalls, minimizing harm to consumers and protecting their reputation.
