McDonald’s said on Sunday that the E. Coli outbreak in the US linked to Quarter Pounder hamburgers was not caused by beef patties.
McDonald’s Chief Supplier Chain Officer Cesar Pina stated in a press release:
We are confident that all contaminated products related to the outbreak have been removed from McDonald’s supply chain.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked last week the popular Quarter Pounder burgers of the company to an E. coli epidemic that affected several US states.
Since then, the CDC has confirmed that there was one death and ten hospitalizations in Colorado and Nebraska. The outbreak also affected 75 people in the US.
Negative results are found in the tests
Colorado Department of Agriculture stated that all subsamples of multiple lots of McDonald’s fresh and frozen beef patties tested negative for E. coli.
The Department also stated that it has completed all testing of beef samples and will not be receiving any more samples to test.
McDonald’s released a statement on Sunday stating that Quarter Pounder Burgers would be available in all of its restaurants within the next week.
E. coli can be eliminated from beef when it is cooked correctly, according to reports. According to Reuters the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder was served with raw, slivered onion; affected restaurants are serving the burgers sans such onions.
Quarter Pounders will not have onions
McDonald’s has said that Quarter Pounder hamburgers won’t have raw slivered onion.
The US Federal Regulators have stated that slivered onion could be the culprit behind the E. coli epidemic.
According to The New York Times, Colorado officials tested samples of beef from two suppliers who provided patties for 900 locations in 12 states.
According to a New York Times article, McDonald’s will stop purchasing slivered onion from its main regional supplier Taylor Farms in Colorado Springs, which is a multistate producer and distributor of fruits and vegetables.
As a precaution, several other fast-food restaurants, such as Taco Bell KFC, and Burger King, have also stopped serving onions.
Remove onions to reduce risks
US health officials have said that removing onion products from the food supply chain in the region would reduce the risk for consumers.
According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out of 75 people who fell ill, one quarter were hospitalized.
The agency reported that two people developed a serious kidney disease associated with E. coli. The illness was reported from September 27 to October 10.
According to reports, a McDonald’s spokesperson stated that as more information was processed, the number of people who were affected by the E. Coli outbreak would increase.
The spokesperson stated that they are “very confident” the source of contamination has been removed from supply chain.
McDonald’s shares have fallen nearly 7% since the CDC’s announcement of the outbreak on Tuesday.
This post McDonald’s tests prove E. coli outbreak is not linked to beef burgers may be updated as new information becomes available
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