Onions recalled by McDonald’s supplier as authorities expect E. coli outbreak cases to rise

Taylor Farms has issued a recall of raw onions after preliminary data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicated the ingredient as “a likely source of contamination” in a deadly E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.

In a recall notice from McDonald’s distributor US Foods obtained by ABC News, its supplier Taylor Farms announced an out-of-caution recall on four raw onion products “due to potential E. coli contamination.”

“Our records show that the affected product may have been shipped to your location. It is urgent that you stop using the affected product as soon as possible,” the warning said.

Four different products were included in the recall: 30-pound bags of peeled giant yellow onions, 4-5 pound bags of fresh yellow onions cut into 3/8-inch cubes, 5-pound bags of fresh yellow onions cut into cubes and 6-5 pound bags of peeled whole yellow onions.

“If you find any affected product, record the number of cases and then destroy the product,” the US Foods notice stated.

According to Bloomberg, Taylor Farms has not yet found any traces of E. coli and it is unclear whether the recall is linked to the McDonald’s outbreak investigation, but Taylor Farms is a supplier of onions to the fast food chain.

Latest CDC data on E. coli outbreak at McDonald’s

At the time of publication, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 49 cases of E. coli with 10 hospitalizations and one death in 10 states linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.

Health officials said they expect the number of sick people to grow.

“This is a rapidly ongoing outbreak investigation. Most sick people report eating McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers and investigators are working quickly to confirm which food ingredient is contaminated,” the agency said in a food safety alert. “McDonald’s has removed ingredients for these burgers and they will not be available for sale in some states.”

As a result, McDonald’s removed the Quarter Pounder from menus in states affected by the outbreak, which represents 20% of U.S. locations.

McDonald’s announced Wednesday that it proactively removed two ingredients from stores in two affected regions, but the company’s leadership team assured that most other menu items were not affected, according to the CDC investigation.

“Other McDonald’s beef products, including the Cheeseburger, Hamburger, Big Mac, McDouble and Double Cheeseburger, will not be affected,” McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said Wednesday.

A McDonald’s spokesperson said fresh onions, sourced from a supplier, or beef patties used at the Quarter Pounder could be behind the outbreak.

If onions are found to be the source of the E. coli outbreak, it would be the first time that onions have been found to carry this specific strain of the bacteria, company spokespeople said Wednesday.

Spokespeople also reiterated that the onions used in Quarter Pounders, as identified by CDC tracking data, came from suppliers that also test for E. coli.

Onions recalled by McDonald’s supplier as authorities expect E. coli outbreak cases to rise originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com