At least 49 people in 10 U.S. states have become ill from contaminated food, health officials said.
U.S. fast food chains including Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell have removed raw onions from some restaurants after an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder sandwich sickened dozens of people. .
Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International and Yum Brands, which operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, after McDonald’s named a California-based supplier as the source of onions linked to food poisonings. It was announced on Thursday.
Illegal Pete’s, a Colorado-based Mexican fast food chain, also announced that it has temporarily discontinued some menu items that include onions.
Taylor Farms, based in Salinas, Calif., did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, McDonald’s stopped selling Quarter Pounders from about one in five stores in the United States after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) linked them to food poisoning cases in 10 states.
At least 49 people, mainly in Colorado and Nebraska, became ill, including one elderly person, health officials said.
Officials have identified the bacteria that causes the illness as E. coli O157:H7, which causes more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths in the United States each year, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of E. coli poisoning can occur within 1 to 2 days of eating contaminated food and usually include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and signs of dehydration.
E. coli is especially dangerous for young children, the elderly, pregnant, or people with weakened immune systems.
