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All contaminated products were related to the E. coli outbreak that caused illness 75 people in 13 states, with one reported fatalityhave now completely disappeared from McDonald’s restaurants, the company said in a statement on Sunday.
“The issue appears to be limited to a specific ingredient and region, and we remain confident that any contaminated product associated with this outbreak has been removed from our supply chain and from all McDonald’s restaurants,” said a spokesperson for McDonald’s.
PHOTO: A McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburger meal is seen at a McDonald’s on October 23, 2024 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The E. coli infections, first reported on September 27 in Colorado, were linked to recent consumption of Quarter Pounder burgers. The Food and Drug Administration, one of several authorities investigating the outbreak, has said the shaved onions on the burgers are a “likely source of contamination.”
McDonald’s confirmed in a statement to ABC News that Taylor Farms is the supplier of the onions and said it has stopped using them as of Oct. 22.
“CDC noted that our proactive steps resulted in the risk to the public being ‘very low,’” McDonald’s said in the statement, adding that it is “a reminder of how our values should guide us every day: we empower people first, and we do the right thing.”
Currently, 26 cases have been reported in Colorado, which remains the hardest-hit state, and 13 in Montana. Other cases have been reported in Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
MORE: E. coli Cases Linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders Rise to 75 in 13 States: CDC
PHOTO: The McDonald’s logo is displayed at a McDonald’s restaurant on October 23, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Of the 61 people who became ill during the outbreak for which the CDC has information, 22 were hospitalized and two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious, potentially fatal complication that can cause kidney failure, according to the CDC.
“We are committed to making this right for all customers who have eaten at McDonald’s and contracted an illness as a result of the outbreak,” the statement said, without elaborating.
It goes on to explain that McDonald’s has confirmed that there is no E. coli in Quarter Pounder beef patties and has officially ruled out these patties as the source of the outbreak.
Although the company had previously halted sales of Quarter Pounders in the Colorado Springs area out of an “abundance of caution” until this could be confirmed, they now planned to resume distribution in the coming week.
At the same time, 900 stores will continue to sell Quarter Pounders without chopped onions, which were previously supplied by Taylor Farms, and – as the company publicly announced last week – McDonald’s will indefinitely stop purchasing onions from that partner.
The last known person with symptoms linked to the E. coli outbreak fell ill on October 10.
McDonald’s Quarter Pounder beef patties are not linked to the E. coli outbreak, the company says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com