(AP) – An E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s quarter-pounder burgers has sickened at least 49 people across 10 states in the United States, including one death and 10 hospitalizations, health authorities said on Tuesday.
An elderly man died in Colorado and a child has been hospitalized for severe kidney complications, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Infections were reported between September 27 and October 11 in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Colorado has the highest number of cases with 26, followed by Nebraska with nine.
All individuals interviewed in connection with the outbreak reported that they had eaten at McDonald’s before falling ill, and most said they had eaten quarter-pounder burgers, the CDC said. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state health authorities also launched investigations.
No single ingredient has yet been identified as the cause, but investigators are focusing on onions and beef. A preliminary investigation suggests that the onions used in the burgers may be the potential source of contamination. The USDA is examining the beef.
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McDonald’s issued a statement saying that preliminary findings indicate some cases are linked to onions from a single supplier. The company has halted distribution of those onions and has temporarily pulled quarter-pounder burgers from menus in the affected states, as well as in parts of Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
“We take food safety extremely seriously, and this is the right thing to do,” the company said in the statement.
