The McDonald’s Quarter Pounder is at the center of a new E. coli outbreak. | Scott Olson/Getty Images
It continues to be a bleak week for McDonald’s
After making headlines earlier this week following presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump’s stunt cosplaying as a service worker, McDonald’s is back in the news again, this time for an even bleaker reason: The CDC announced yesterday that it’s investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to the company’s Quarter Pounders.
As of this writing, the CDC reports 49 cases in 10 states, including one death and 10 hospitalizations, that have been linked to McDonald’s. Most of these cases have been in Colorado and Nebraska, with their neighboring states also affected.
Though the outbreak has been linked to the Quarter Pounder specifically, health officials have not yet definitively identified the problem ingredient, though the fresh slivered onions (which are primarily used on Quarter Pounders) and quarter-pound beef patties were initially identified as possible culprits. (A departure from its other burgers, McDonald’s launched fresh beef for the Quarter Pounder, as opposed to frozen, in 2018.)
In an official statement, McDonald’s speculates that the issue lies with the slivered onions, which are sourced from a single supplier that serves three distribution centers. As a result, McDonald’s has pulled the Quarter Pounders from the affected states.
The news continues an alarming uptick in major foodborne illness outbreaks: In recent months, deli meats, other ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, and frozen waffles have all been affected by listeria contamination nationwide, leading to food recalls.
This is neither the first nor the largest foodborne illness outbreak that McDonald’s has experienced. In 2008, the chain along with others, including Taco Bell and Burger King, pulled raw tomatoes from their menus after they were linked to a salmonella outbreak. In 2018, a cyclospora parasite infection linked to McDonald’s salads sickened at least 395 people. And in 2022, an E. coli outbreak linked to chicken nuggets affected at least six children in Alabama.
How the current E. coli outbreak will pan out for McDonald’s in the long run remains to be seen. Its stock has recently taken a hit as a result of the news, but even Chipotle has been able to bounce back from its major foodborne illness problems.
