McDonald's has stopped selling Quarter Pounder hamburgers at about one-fifth of its U.S. restaurants as federal health officials investigate an outbreak of E.
coli that has sickened nearly 50 people in 10 states, killing one. The fast-food chain sold about 1 million Quarter Pounders in the timeframe that the illnesses occurred, a McDonald's spokesperson said Wednesday. The company said it believes more people would have been sickened if the contamination stemmed from the patties themselves, adding that onions used on the burgers may be the culprit.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday linked McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers to the outbreak, which sickened people in Colorado, Nebraska, and other Mountain and Western states.
Most of those who fell ill reported eating Quarter Pounders from McDonald's, and investigators are working to confirm which food ingredient is contaminated, according to the CDC. What may have caused the E. coli outbreak? Cesar Piña, the company's North America chief supply chain officer, said in a statement on Tuesday that the company's initial investigation suggests that some of the E.
coli illnesses might be linked to slivered onions used in the Quarter Pounder. McDonald's burgers are cooked at 175 degrees, above the 160 degree level needed to kill the E. coli bacteria, according to a company spokesperson.
However, slivered onions used as a topping on Quarter Pounder burgers sold in the impacted region were not cooked and.
