As a deadly 10-state E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders unfolds, the fast food chain’s supplier, Taylor Farms of Salinas, CA, has recalled onion products for potential E. coli contamination. The recall includes whole, peeled, yellow onions and diced, yellow onions produced at the company’s Colorado facility.
Federal officials have not yet confirmed the source of the outbreak but have identified ground beef and slivered onions as the leading suspects.
Prior to the October 24 onion recall, McDonald’s stopped using fresh slivered onions and quarter-pound beef patties in several states as these ingredients are used primarily for Quarter Pounder hamburgers and not other menu items.
Restaurant supplier US Foods does not distribute Taylor Farms onions to McDonald’s but does distribute them to other restaurants. Today, the company issued a recall of Taylor Farms onions to those clients including the Mexican fast-casual chain Illegal Pete’s, which has stores in Arizona and Colorado.
Restaurant Brand International, the parent company of Burger King, told Reuters that about 5 percent of Burger King stores removed onions from their menus.
A spokesperson for Yum! Brands, which owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, told NBC News that all Colorado Taco Bell restaurants and select Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in that state have also removed fresh onions from their menus. The company told NBC News it is not aware of any illnesses linked to those restaurants
McDonald’s Quarter Pounder E. coli Outbreak
The McDonald’s Quarter Pounder E. coli outbreak includes at least 49 illnesses and one death. Ten of the patients, who range in age from 13 to 88 years old, have been hospitalized, one of them with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening complication of E. coli infections that causes kidney failure.
Illnesses have been reported from 10 states: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Taylor Farms Onions and Celery Tied to 2015 E. coli Outbreak
In 2015, Costco rotisserie chicken salad was the source of a seven-state outbreak that sickened 19 people. Five people were hospitalized and two developed HUS.
The salad contained a diced celery and onion blend produced by Taylor Farms. The Montana Public Health Laboratory collected a sample of Taylor Farms diced celery and onion blend from a Costco store in Montana and tested it and preliminary results indicated the presence of E. coli O157:H7. However, during further analysis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) couldn’t confirm the presence of the bacteria.
Experienced E. coli Lawyers
The E. coli Team at Pritzker Hageman has represented clients in every major U.S. E. coli outbreak.
In one recent case, our team of E. coli lawyers obtained one of the largest E. coli verdicts in U.S. history on behalf of a young girl who contracted an E. coli-HUS infection from animal contact at a pumpkin patch. As a result of her E. coli-HUS infection, our client suffered a life-threatening illness that caused severe kidney damage.
If you or your family member developed an E. coli infection from contaminated food and you would like a free consultation with an experienced E. coli lawyer, please contact us by calling 1-888-377-8900, sending a text to 612-261-0856, or by completing the form below. The consultation is free and there is no obligation.