McDonald’s is committing $100 million to attract customers back to its locations following a distressing E. coli food poisoning incident linked to onions used in its Quarter Pounder burgers.
This financial allocation includes $65 million targeted specifically towards franchises that were most adversely affected by the incident, as detailed by the company.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that slivered onions used in the Quarter Pounders are the primary suspect in the E. coli outbreak. Taylor Farms, based in California, has pulled certain onion products thought to be associated with the health crisis.
Reports indicate significant case numbers in several states: Colorado has recorded at least 30 infections, Montana has 19, Nebraska has 13, and New Mexico has 10 cases. These illnesses occurred between September 12 and October 21, resulting in at least 104 individuals falling ill and 34 requiring hospitalization. Tragically, one death was confirmed in Colorado, while four other individuals experienced severe kidney complications as a consequence of the infection.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that there appears to be no ongoing food safety risks related to this outbreak at McDonald’s establishments.
However, the outbreak has impacted the company’s revenue. During the initial stages of the health crisis, Quarter Pounders were taken off menus in numerous regions. In response, McDonald’s located an alternative onion supplier to service the 900 restaurants that had temporarily halted the sale of burgers featuring onions.
Recently, McDonald’s has reinstated the Quarter Pounder with slivered onions across its restaurants nationwide, signaling a shift back to normalcy.
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.