Washington—Federal officials confirmed new cases of E. coli illness among McDonald’s customers on Wednesday, as investigators looking for the outbreak’s origins discovered an “onion grower of interest” in Washington state.
The Food and Drug Administration reported that 90 people in 13 states have become ill as a result of the incident, up from 75 at the end of last week. The number of individuals hospitalized rose by five to 27. A single death has been linked to the outbreak.
Officials have stated that raw, slivered onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers are the most likely source of E. coli. McDonald’s stated the onions came from a single supplier, Taylor Farms of California. The company has since recalled the yellow onions it distributed to McDonald’s and other restaurant chains.
McDonald’s E. Coli Case Count Rises As Federal Officials Inspect An Onion Grower
The FDA announced Wednesday that it has begun checking Taylor Farm’s processing facility in Colorado Springs and an “onion grower of interest” in Washington state. It did not name the grower.
According to the FDA, more than 80% of persons with E. coli who federal investigators interviewed reported consuming McDonald’s dishes with fresh, slivered onions.
McDonald’s announced last week that onions from its Colorado Springs facility were supplied to about 900 restaurants, including several in transit hubs like airports. After tests determined that beef patties were not the source of the epidemic, the restaurant chain said it would resume serving Quarter Pounders at hundreds of its locations.
McDonald’s E. Coli Case Count Rises As Federal Officials Inspect An Onion Grower
The kind of E. coli causing the outbreak can cause deadly diarrhea, renal failure, and other serious complications. It causes over 74,000 infections in the United States each year, resulting in over 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to FDA officials, the current risk of sickness “is low because the onions have been recalled and should no longer be available.” They highlighted that all recorded incidents happened before Taylor Farms and McDonald’s took the onions off the market.
SOURCE | AP
