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U.S. public health officials announced Tuesday that an E. coli outbreak that has killed at least one person has been linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburger.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the sandwich-related outbreak has infected 49 people across 10 states. Ten people were hospitalized as a result of this outbreak.
"This is a rapidly evolving outbreak investigation. Most sick people reported eating McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers, and investigators are working quickly to determine which food ingredients were contaminated.” said the CDC.
The agency said “McDonald’s has removed the ingredients from these burgers” and they are no longer available for purchase in some states. Officials say most of the cases are in Colorado and Nebraska.
The agency said McDonald’s is working with law enforcement authorities to determine which ingredients are making people sick. The company has stopped using “fresh julienned onions” and quarter-pound beef patties in some states while the investigation continues.
Symptoms of E. coli include extreme abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. Symptoms usually develop 3 to 4 days after ingesting the bacteria.
Most people recover within 5 to 7 days without treatment. However, some people may develop severe kidney damage and require hospitalization, the CDC said.
In a message on its website, McDonald’s said safety “is our top priority and cannot be compromised,” and that’s why “in response to the E. coli outbreak in certain states, we are taking swift and decisive action.” “We are taking lessons,” he said.
The company said preliminary findings indicate “some of the illnesses” may be linked to worn-out onions produced by one supplier that supplies leeks to three distribution centers. said. All local restaurants have been told to remove the product from their menus, and the company has temporarily stopped distributing shredded onions in affected areas.
The company sells quarters from restaurants in areas such as Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, and parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Pounder will be temporarily removed.
McDonald’s is also working closely with suppliers to increase the supply of Quarter Pounders, but “for the time being, other beef products, including cheeseburgers, hamburgers, Big Macs, McDoubles, and double cheeseburgers,” All menus are unaffected and available.
The news comes shortly after former President Donald Trump appeared at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania following a phased-out campaign stop. Trump served French fries and spent several minutes behind the fryer to mock Kamala Harris, who worked at McDonald’s during her college days. He claimed, without evidence, that she did not work at the fast food restaurant.
The hamburger outbreak is one of a number of recent incidents involving infected food. Earlier this month, about 12 million pounds of meat was recalled due to possible listeria contamination.
Late this summer, an outbreak of listeria food poisoning linked to Boar’s Head deli meat left dozens of people sick and several dead.
