STORY: US rivals of McDonald’s also pulled onions from their menus Thursday after the vegetable was named the likely source of an E coli. outbreak at some McDonald’s restaurants.
They include Burger King as well as Yum Brands, which operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC.
The latter said it removed onions from some restaurants “out of an abundance of caution.”
The E.coli outbreak at McDonald’s has killed at least one person and sickened nearly 50 others across the U.S. West and Midwest.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday confirmed that Taylor Farms was the supplier for the affected McDonald’s locations.
The company has recalled yellow onions produced in a Colorado facility, according to a recall memo on Wednesday by US Foods.
In the aftermath of the outbreak, some people Reuters spoke to in Washington D.C. were avoiding the hamburgers.
“I probably would not buy a Quarter Pounder at this point, but again, look, I think that the corporation is out in front of it along with U.S. authorities and agencies. So I think it will be, I think it will be resolved soon.”
Past E. coli outbreaks, like those in 2015 at Chipotle Mexican Grill and in 1993 at Jack in the Box, caused sales to drop at big fast-food restaurants across the US.
And Keith Warriner, a professor of food science at the University of Guelph, warns there could be more cases:
“The incubation period for E. coli 157 is typically ten days. And the last sort of reported case I think was last week. So the problem is, is that you’ve got other cases that might be occurring but yet have to be linked to the outbreak. And very typically what happens is that the numbers expand.”
Regulators are still investigating whether McDonald’s beef patties could be affected.
But E. coli is killed in beef when cooked properly.
Whereas the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder is served with raw, slivered onions.
McDonald’s has moved quickly to try to contain the damage, with its US president Joe Erlinger on Wednesday saying it needs to rebuild trust with the public.
On Wednesday, a Colorado man filed what appears to be the first lawsuit against McDonald’s over the outbreak, seeking more than $50,000 in damages.