Outbreaks of foodborne illnesses are pretty rare for well known restaurant chains, but they do happen. This week, an outbreak of E. coli food poisonings linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states, including one person who died and 10 who were hospitalized.
McDonald's has halted the distribution of slivered onions and temporarily removed the Quarter Pounder from menus in multiple states. Here's a brief history of some of recent incidents that sickened customers, roiled businesses and sometimes changed how food safety is regulated in the U.S.
Wendy's Wendy's pulled lettuce from sandwiches in its restaurants in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania in August 2022 after some people reported falling ill. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at the time that it was trying to determine whether romaine lettuce was the source of an E. coli outbreak that sickened at least 37 people and whether romaine used at Wendy’s was also served or sold at other businesses.
One person was also sickened in Indiana, according to the CDC. Chipotle In 2015, Chipotle was hit by an E. coli outbreak that sickened more than 50 people and it temporarily shut down dozens of restaurants on the West Coast, but that was just the beginning.
A month later, 30 Boston College students, including at least eight members of the men’s basketball team, complained of gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at a Chipotle restaurant. Federal officials declared.
