McDonald’s E. coli outbreak: Supplier recalls onions, first lawsuit filed

Several restaurants in Colorado have pulled onions from their menus after dozens of people became ill after eating food contaminated with E. coli.

Those who fell ill said they had eaten McDonald’s Quarter Pounders but the fast food chain has not confirmed the source. It is believed that either the burger patties or more likely, the slivered onions were the source of the contamination.

The Quarter Pounders’ onions were not cooked and came from a single supplier, CBS News reported. The burgers on the other hand were cooked at 175 degrees. E. coli is killed when food is cooked at 160 degrees, a McDonald’s spokesperson, said.

McDonald’s has temporarily stopped selling the sandwiches at several restaurants to help stop the spread of the contamination.

Meanwhile, Taylor Farms recalled some yellow onions produced at a Colorado facility, Bloomberg reported.

The recall was announced by US Foods which distributes Taylor Farms’ onions. US Foods, according to Food Safety News, is the largest supplier of food service companies in the country.

If an institution or business had the recalled onions, US Foods said to stop using them and destroy the produce, according to documents shared by The Colorado Sun.

“Taylor Farms Colorado removed yellow onions from the market produced out of our Colorado facility. We continue to work closely with FDA and CDC during this ongoing investigation,” the company said in a statement to Bloomberg.

Taylor Farms did not say if it supplied the McDonald’s locations at the center of the outbreak, CBS News reported.

The company released a statement to KCNC saying it conducted tests on “raw and finished products” and “found no traces of E. coli.”

Because of the recall several other restaurants have pulled onions from their menus. Some Illegal Pete’s and Taco Bell locations have stopped serving onions, Denverite and The Colorado Sun reported.

The recall has spawned its first lawsuit against McDonald’s. Eric Stelly is suing the fast-food chain after he said he ate at a McDonald’s in Greeley, Colorado on Oct. 4. Two days later he started feeling ill and had several gastrointestinal symptoms. On Oct. 8, his lawyer, Ron Simon, said Stelly tested positive for E. coli, Bloomberg Law reported.

The suit alleges that McDonald’s items “were defective because they contained E. coli” adding that the company had to warn Stelly that the food was “potentially hazardous or life-threatening.”

McDonald’s did not respond to Bloomberg Law’s request for comment on the suit as of Thursday morning.

The Food and Drug Administration said 49 people were sickened with 10 needing to be hospitalized. There was one death.

The outbreak was found in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

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