Quarter pounders have been returned to McDonald’s menus after an E.coli outbreak in the US, but the fast-food giant has warned cases are still expected to rise.
Earlier this month, there was an outbreak of the disease linked to a facility that supplied 900 McDonald’s restaurants.
One person died and 75 others were left sick, as other fast-food chains, including Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, took action as well, pulling the contaminated ingredient, slivered onions, from their menu.
The onions were supplied by Taylor Farms, a California-based company, and McDonald’s quarter-pound beef patties were also under investigation by authorities over fears they could carry E.coli too.
However, after testing from the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the beef patties were found to be unaffected on Sunday and, as a result, the popular burger is back on the menu for many this week.
The affected restaurants weren’t limited to Colorado and also stretched across Kansas and Wyoming, as well as parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah.
All of them used a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado Springs.
McDonald’s North America chief supply chain officer Cesar Pina said that the steps the company had taken resulted in the risk to the public being “very low” and that the quarter pounders had been pulled “out of an abundance of caution”.
“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,” he said.
He added: “Health officials have noted that with increased awareness, more people will seek medical attention and case counts will grow.”
In a statement, McDonald’s also noted that the contaminated onions were distributed “well beyond” just its own branches and to other restaurants as well.
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At least 22 people have been treated in hospital due to the outbreak, including a child who suffered a severe kidney disease complication as a result.
Illnesses were confirmed between 27 September and 10 October, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Eric Stelly, from Greeley, Colorado, is suing McDonald’s after contracting an E.coli infection.
In a lawsuit, he said he ate at McDonald’s on 4 October, before falling ill two days later and seeking emergency care. Health officials later confirmed his infection was part of the outbreak.
Onions have been implicated in previous outbreaks and in 2015, Taylor Farms recalled a celery and onion mix used in Costo chicken salads after 19 people fell sick with E.coli.
Taylor Farms has been approached for comment.