McDonald's And Other Fast Food Chains Pull Onions From Stores After E. Coli Outbreak

Since the FDA announced an E. coli outbreak affecting McDonald's Quarter Pounders in several states on October 22, 2024, the fast food chain has said that raw slivered onions sourced from Taylor Farms are the cause of the outbreak. (The fresh beef patties are also being considered in the multi-agency federal investigation that includes the FDA, the USDA, the CDC, and the FSIS, which has not confirmed the outbreak's source, as other McDonald's burgers use flash-frozen patties.) In response, several other fast food chains are now pulling onions from certain locations. According to CBS News, Burger King and Yum! Brands' KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell have removed fresh onions from specific stores, but have not announced which ones. Fat Brands, the owner of Johnny Rockets, has also pulled Taylor Farms onions from its restaurants (via Bloomberg). 

Presently, McDonald's remains the only restaurant to report any illnesses after consuming the products containing the onions. According to the FDA, as of October 24, 75 people across 13 states have been infected with the E. coli O157:H7 strain, resulting in 22 hospitalizations and one death. 

Taylor Farms, a California-based producer of salads and fresh produce that supplies restaurants and supermarkets, has issued a voluntary recall for "specific onion products" produced at its Colorado facility. Taylor Farms told Bloomberg that it has not found traces of E. coli in its onions, but issued the recall out of "an abundance of caution." The FDA reports that recalled yellow onions were sold to restaurants besides McDonald's, but that customers who received them were notified. One customer of Taylor Farms, US Foods Holding Corp., a leading food service distributor, has had at least one of its restaurants destroy its onions, per Bloomberg. According to the FDA, the federal agency is still investigating whether onions are behind this E. coli outbreak, having yet to confirm its source.

While other fast food chains haven't disclosed the locations of where they're removing onions from, the McDonald's restaurants that have temporarily stopped using Quarter Pounder beef patties and slivered onions are in Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, and parts of Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Montana, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, and New Mexico, per the FDA. Updates related to the E. coli outbreak will continue to be shared on the federal agency's investigation website.