McDonald's Quarter Pounder back on menu after testing rules out beef patties as source of E. coli

LOS ANGELES (AP) — McDonald’s announced Sunday that Quarter Pounders will be back on the menu at hundreds of its restaurants after testing beef patties excluded as a source of outbreak of E. coli poisoning linked to the popular burgers that killed one person and sickened at least 75 others in 13 states.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to believe that chopped onions from a single supplier are the likely source of contamination, McDonald’s said in a statement. The company said it will resume sales of the Quarter Pounder at affected restaurants — without sliced onions — in the coming week.

By Friday, the outbreak had expanded to at least 75 sick people in 13 states, federal health officials said. A total of 22 people were hospitalized, and two developed a dangerous complication of kidney disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. One person has died in Colorado.

Early information analyzed by the FDA showed that uncooked chopped onions used on the burgers “are a likely source of contamination,” the agency said. McDonald’s has confirmed this that Taylor Farms, a California-based produce company, was the supplier of the fresh onions used in the restaurants involved in the outbreak, and that they came from a facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

McDonald’s pulled the Quarter Pounder burger from menus in several states — mainly the Midwest and Mountain states — when the outbreak was announced Tuesday. McDonald’s said Friday that chopped onions from its Colorado Springs plant have been distributed to about 900 of its restaurants, including some in transportation hubs such as airports.

The company said it removed the cut onions from the factory from its supply chain on Tuesday. McDonald’s said it has decided to stop sourcing onions from the Taylor Farms plant in Colorado Springs “indefinitely.”

The 900 McDonald’s restaurants that normally receive chopped onions from the Taylor Farms facility in Colorado Springs will resume selling Quarter Pounders without chopped onions, McDonald’s said.

Testing by the Colorado Department of Agriculture found beef patties to be the cause of the outbreak, McDonald’s said.

The Department of Agriculture has received multiple shipments of fresh and frozen beef patties collected from several Colorado McDonald’s locations involved in the E. coli investigation. All samples were found to be negative for E. coli, the department said.

Taylor Farms said Friday it has preemptively recalled yellow onions sent from its Colorado factory to its customers and continues to cooperate with the CDC and FDA as they investigate.

While it remains unclear whether the recalled onions were the source of the outbreak, several other fast-food restaurants — including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King — have removed onions from some menus in certain areas this week.

Colorado had the most cases as of Friday, with 26 cases. At least 13 people fell ill in Montana, 11 in Nebraska, 5 each in New Mexico and Utah, 4 each in Missouri and Wyoming, two in Michigan and one each in Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Wisconsin and Washington, the CDC reported.

McDonald’s said Friday that it has not pulled the Quarter Pounder from additional restaurants and noted that some cases in states outside the original region were related to travel.

The CDC said some people who became ill reported traveling to other states before their symptoms started. At least three people said they ate at McDonald’s during their trip. Illnesses were reported between September 27 and October 11.

The outbreak involves infections with E. coli 0157:H7, a type of bacteria that produces a dangerous poison. It causes about 74,000 infections in the U.S. annually, leading to more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths annually, according to CDC.

Symptoms of E. coli poisoning can occur quickly, within a day or two of eating contaminated food. They usually 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 children under 5 years old, the elderly, pregnant people or people with a weakened immune system.

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Associated Press writer JoNel Aleccia reported from Temecula, California.