A recent E. coli outbreak has been traced back to a California-based produce company, Taylor Farms, that supplied onions linked to the illnesses at McDonald’s, officials with the fast-food chain said Thursday.
McDonald’s officials said that Taylor Farms, headquartered in Salinas, sent onions to one distribution facility, which led the chain to remove its Quarter Pounder hamburgers from restaurants in several states. McDonald’s didn’t say which facility it was.
The outbreak has affected at least 49 people across 10 states and resulted in one death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Investigators are focusing on slivered onions as a potential source of the E. coli infections, the CDC said.
“Preliminary traceback and distribution information reviewed by FDA shows that slivered onions served on Quarter Pounders are a likely source of contamination,” the CDC said. “FDA is working quickly to confirm that these onions are a source of this outbreak and to determine if these onions were served or sold at other businesses.”
This comes as U.S. Foods, a major restaurant wholesaler, announced in a recall notice on Thursday that it was informed this week that Taylor Farms is conducting a recall of peeled whole and diced yellow onions due to potential E. coli contamination.
The recalled onions came from a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado, a U.S. Foods spokesperson said. However, the wholesaler also noted that it wasn’t a McDonald’s supplier and that its recall didn’t include any products sold at the fast-food chain’s restaurants.
Taylor Farms didn’t return a request for comment from NTD News, and it has yet to publicly issue a statement on the matter.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not confirmed whether it is specifically investigating Taylor Farms but stated that it is “looking at all sources” related to the outbreak.
Other Fast-Food Chains
Yum Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC, issued a statement saying it had “proactively removed fresh onions from select” locations as a precaution.
The Louisville, Kentucky-based company didn’t say which specific locations were affected or confirm whether it shares suppliers with McDonald’s.
Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, said Thursday that 5 percent of its restaurants use onions from the Taylor Farms’ Colorado facility. They said they’ve already instructed such restaurants to toss out the onions two days ago and are now sourcing onions from other suppliers, despite no direct contact from health officials.
Chipotle also confirmed Thursday it does not source onions from Taylor Farms or use any ingredients from the Colorado facility in question.
In the current outbreak, at least 10 people have been hospitalized, including a child who developed severe kidney disease because of the infection, according to the CDC. The agency reported that illnesses were confirmed between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11.
The strain involved in this outbreak is E. coli O157:H7, known for a dangerous toxin it produces that’s responsible for approximately 74,000 infections in the United States each year, according to John Hopkins Medicine, citing CDC data. The strain leads to over 2,000 hospitalizations and about 61 deaths each year.
A lawsuit has been filed against McDonald’s by Eric Stelly of Greeley, Colorado, who claims he contracted E. coli after eating from a local McDonald’s on Oct. 4, before falling ill two days later. Health officials later confirmed his infection was part of the ongoing outbreak.
E. coli poisoning symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, dehydration, and dizziness. Symptoms can appear quickly, and according to the CDC, children younger than 5, the elderly, pregnant women, or people with weakened immune systems are most at risk.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.