McDonald’s Quarter Pounders Sicken Dozens in E. coli Outbreak

After making headlines following presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump’s stunt cosplaying as a service worker, McDonald’s is back in the news again, this time for an even bleaker reason: The CDC is investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to the company’s Quarter Pounders.

The CDC now reports 75 cases in 13 states, including one death and 22 hospitalizations, that have been linked to McDonald’s. (That’s up from the initially reported 49 cases in 10 states.) Most of these cases have been in Colorado and Nebraska, with their neighboring states also affected. And on October 23, a Colorado man who tested positive for E. coli after purchasing food at a McDonald’s filed a lawsuit against the company alleging product liability, negligence, and breach of implied warranties.

The outbreak has been linked to the Quarter Pounder specifically, with initial speculation that the cause was either the fresh slivered onions (which are primarily used on Quarter Pounders) or the quarter-pound beef patties. (A departure from its other burgers, McDonald’s launched fresh beef for the Quarter Pounder, as opposed to frozen, in 2018.)

In an official statement, McDonald’s speculated that the issue lies with the slivered onions, which are sourced from a single supplier that serves three distribution centers. The Colorado-based Taylor Farms, which supplied the onions, has since issued a recall of its yellow onions. The distributors Sysco and US Foods have both notified their customers to stop using onions from Taylor Farms, which are also sold under the name Cross Valley Farms, Restaurant Business reported. Some Burger King, Denny’s, KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut locations have also pulled onions from the menu.

McDonald’s briefly stopped selling the Quarter Pounder in affected states, though the company has since resumed selling them after the patties tested negative for E. coli.

The news continues an alarming uptick in major foodborne illness outbreaks: In recent months, deli meats, other ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, and frozen waffles have all been affected by listeria contamination nationwide, leading to food recalls.

This is neither the first nor the largest foodborne illness outbreak that McDonald’s has experienced. In 2008, the chain along with others, including Taco Bell and Burger King, pulled raw tomatoes from their menus after they were linked to a salmonella outbreak. In 2018, a cyclospora parasite infection linked to McDonald’s salads sickened at least 395 people. And in 2022, an E. coli outbreak linked to chicken nuggets affected at least six children in Alabama.

How the current E. coli outbreak will pan out for McDonald’s in the long run remains to be seen. Its stock has recently taken a hit as a result of the news, but even Chipotle has been able to bounce back from its major foodborne illness problems.

Update: October 28, 2024, 12:00 p.m.: This article has been updated to include the latest information.