McDonald’s plans to put the Quarter Pounder back on the menu in states where it was removed after last week’s E. Coli outbreak. The fast-food chain cites a report from Colorado health officials who tested Quarter Pounder hamburger patties and reported they tested negative.
That leaves slivered onions as the prime suspect and once the Quarter Pounder is back on the menu in affected states, they will be onion-free.
Taylor Farms, which supplies raw onions to McDonald’s in the affected states, has issued a recall for its onions “out of an abundance of caution.” McDonald’s has said it thinks the onions were the source of the outbreak, which killed at least one person and sickened at least 75 others in the central U.S.
Confident the outbreak has been contained
McDonald's North America Chief Supply Chain Officer Cesar Piña said the E. Coli issue appears to be confined to a particular ingredient and geography, and the company remains “very confident” that any contaminated product related to this outbreak has been removed from the supply chain and is out of all McDonald’s restaurants.
“While we understand that slivered onions from this facility were distributed well beyond McDonald’s System to other quick service restaurants and food service providers, public health agencies’ interviews at this stage will likely focus on patients who note visiting McDonald’s,” Pina said.
“This could also account for more cases being linked to McDonald’s. We are committed to making this right for any customers who have eaten at McDonald’s and suffered an illness as a result of the outbreak.”
McDonald’s said Quarter Pounter sales will resume in the coming days at 900 outlets in Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.