A California-based food company was the source of fresh onions linked to a fatal E. coli food poisoning outbreak at McDonald's, restaurant chain officials said Thursday. Meanwhile, other fast food restaurants — including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King — have removed onions from some menus.
McDonald's officials said Taylor Farms of Salinas, California, sent onions to a distribution facility, prompting the fast-food chain to remove Quarter Pounder hamburgers from restaurants in several states. McDonald's didn’t say which establishment it was.
An outbreak linked to the burgers has sickened no less than 49 people in 10 states, including one one who has died, federal health officials said. Investigators said this was the case The focus is on sliced onions as a possible source of infection.
US Foods, a significant wholesaler to restaurants across the country, said Thursday that Taylor Farms issued a recall this week for peeled whole and diced yellow onions on account of possible E. coli contamination. The recalled onions got here from a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado, a US Foods spokesman said. However, the wholesaler also identified that it will not be a McDonald's supplier and that the recall doesn’t affect products sold within the fast food chain's restaurants.
Taylor Farms didn’t reply to multiple requests for comment.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials didn’t confirm that the agency was investigating Taylor Farms. A spokesman said Thursday that the agency was investigating “all causes” of the outbreak.
Meanwhile, other national restaurant chains have temporarily stopped using fresh onions.
“As we continue to monitor the recently reported E. coli outbreak and out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed fresh onions from select Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants,” Yum Brands said in a press release.
Yum Brands, based in Louisville, Kentucky, wouldn’t say where the onions were removed or whether the corporate uses the identical supplier as McDonald's. Yum Brands said it will proceed to follow the guidance of regulators and its suppliers.
Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, said Thursday that 5% of its restaurants use onions distributed from Taylor Farms' Colorado facility. Burger King restaurants receive whole, fresh onions and employees wash, peel and slice them.
Although the corporate has not been contacted by health officials and there have been no signs of illness, Restaurant Brands said it asked restaurants that received onions from the Colorado facility two days ago to discard them. The company said it’s replenishing its inventory with onions from other suppliers.
Chipotle said Thursday that it doesn’t source onions from Taylor Farms or every other ingredients from its Colorado plant.
Onions have been implicated in previous outbreaks. In 2015, Taylor Farms recalled a celery-onion mix utilized in Costco chicken salads after 19 people became in poor health with E. coli. Last yr, 80 people became in poor health and one died in a salmonella poisoning outbreak linked to packaged diced onions from Gills Onions of Oxnard.
At least ten people were hospitalized within the McDonald's outbreak, including a baby who suffered severe kidney disease because of this of the infection. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, illnesses were confirmed between September 27 and October 11.
The victims were infected with E. coli 0157:H7, a style of bacteria that produces a dangerous toxin. According to the CDC, it causes about 74,000 infections annually within the U.S., leading to greater than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths annually.
A Greeley, Colorado, man is suing McDonald's after contracting an E. coli infection. In a lawsuit filed this week, Eric Stelly said he ate food from a neighborhood McDonald's on Oct. 4 and have become in poor health two days later. After he sought emergency care, health authorities confirmed his infection was a part of the outbreak.
Symptoms of E. coli poisoning can appear quickly, one to 2 days after eating contaminated food. These typically include fever, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, and signs of dehydration – little or no urination, increased thirst and dizziness. The infection is especially dangerous for youngsters under 5 years of age, older people, pregnant women or individuals with weakened immune systems.
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