CDC declares end to McDonald’s E. coli outbreak tied to Quarter Pounders

Dec 03, 2024

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Jack Aylmer Anchor

By Jack Aylmer (Anchor), Roey Hadar (Producer), Bast Bramhall (Video Editor)

The CDC has given an important all-clear about eating at McDonald’s. The public health agency says the outbreak of E. coli affecting sliced onions on the chain’s Quarter Pounders is over.

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Since the investigation began in October, the CDC and FDA identified 104 cases in 14 states, mostly in the Midwest and Mountain West. They found 34 hospitalizations, including one death of an older adult in Colorado.

Investigators traced the outbreak to a single distributor, California-based Taylor Farms. McDonald’s only used the contaminated onions on the Quarter Pounder with cheese.

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After news of the outbreak emerged, McDonald’s temporarily pulled the Quarter Pounder off the menu in the affected states.

The FDA said in its announcement about the end of the investigation that, “there does not appear to be a continued food safety concern related to this outbreak.”

The news comes on a big day for McDonald’s and its menu.

Tuesday, Dec. 2, marks the latest return of the McRib, the famous barbecue pork sandwich, to the menu.

The McRib is a niche fan favorite among McDonald’s customers. The chain has brought it back nationwide for limited runs in each of the past five years, usually around the end of the year.

Informal studies have suggested McDonald’s may choose its timing of when to bring back the McRib based on pork prices, as a way to capitalize when prices are low.

Like previous runs, McDonald’s has said the McRib will only be available for a limited time.

Tags: CDC, Fast food, FDA, food, McDonald’s, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Jack Aylmer: For those of you worried about eating safely at McDonald’s, the CDC has given an important all-clear. The public health agency says the outbreak of E. coli affecting sliced onions on the chain’s quarter pounders is over.

Since the investigation began in October, the CDC and FDA identified 104 cases in 14 states, mostly in the Midwest and Mountain West.

They found 34 hospitalizations, including one death of an older adult in Colorado.

Investigators traced the outbreak to a single distributor: the California-based Taylor Farms. McDonald’s only used the contaminated onions on one menu item: the quarter pounder with cheese. After news of the outbreak emerged, McDonald’s temporarily pulled the quarter pounder off the menu in the affected states.

The FDA said in its announcement about the end of the investigation, quote, “There does not appear to be a continued food safety concern related to this outbreak.”

The news comes on a big day for McDonald’s and its menu.

Tuesday marks the latest return of the McRib, the famous barbecue pork sandwich, to the menu. The McRib is a niche fan favorite among McDonald’s customers. The chain has brought it back nationwide for limited runs in each of the past five years, usually around the end of the year.

Informal studies have suggested that McDonald’s may choose its timing of when to bring back the McRib based on pork prices, as a way to capitalize when prices are low.

Like previous runs, McDonald’s has said the McRib will only be available for a limited time.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Jack Aylmer.

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