The Origin of Dozens of People Falling Sick Related to the E Coli Outbreak at McD
Holiday Ayo - A One person died and dozens of other people fell ill due to an E. coli bacterial infection after eating burger products at McDonald's.
This incident occurred in a number of states in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that sliced onions served in McDonald's quarter pounder hamburgers and other menu items may be the source of the E Coli outbreak.
It was reported that 90 people were affected by this. An outbreak associated with Quarter Pounder was first reported on October 22, and sliced onions were suspected to be the source of the infection.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the company have confirmed that Taylor Farms is a supplier to the affected locations, and have since recalled several batches of yellow onions produced at the Colorado facility.
The FDA on Wednesday said it had begun inspections at a Taylor Farms processing center in Colorado, a state where 29 people have fallen ill in the outbreak.
"An onion grower of interest in Washington state is also under investigation," the FDA added, quoted by Reuters.
The CDC said the number of people infected had increased, increasing by 15 people from the previous 75 cases, bringing the total to 90 patients.
A total of 27 of them have been hospitalized due to the disease and one person has reportedly died.
On Sunday, the company along with the Colorado Department of Agriculture also ruled out the possibility that beef was the source of the outbreak.
The E coli O157:H7 strain that caused the outbreak at McDonald's is said to cause "very serious illness," especially in the elderly, children and people with compromised immune systems.
The FDA notes that symptoms begin to appear several days after consuming contaminated food or up to nine days later.
As of October 30, the outbreak affected Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin, Washington and Michigan.
"At a minimum, the more this case is in the news, the harder it is for McDonald's to bounce back," said Jim Sanderson, analyst at Northcoast Research.
McDonald's said it would resume sales of Quarter Pounders burgers this week after temporarily removing the item from the menu at one-fifth of its 14,000 affected U.S. restaurants.
On Tuesday, company executives dismissed a potential drop in sales due to the outbreak, with CEO Chris Kempczinski apologizing to customers and adding that he was "confident in the safety of eating at McDonald's."
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