McDonald’s ‘Tomato Cheese Beef Burger’. Photo = McDonald’s SNS”/>
McDonald’s ‘Tomato Cheese Beef Burger’. Photo = McDonald’s SNS As the onions used in hamburgers were pointed out as the cause of the recent McDonald’s hamburger E. coli food poisoning incident that occurred in the United States, other large fast food companies are removing raw onions from their ingredients.
According to foreign media such as the Associated Press on the 24th (local time), McDonald’s officials announced that the E. coli detected in their hamburgers was related to raw onions supplied by Taylor Farms, a food company in Salinas, California.
A McDonald’s spokesperson explained that the raw onions in question were supplied from a single supplier and were delivered to each branch after being processed and packaged into thin slices at a single facility.
Previously, on the 22nd, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 49 people in 10 states showed symptoms of food poisoning caused by O157:H7 E. coli, of which one died and 10 were hospitalized. Among the patients, all of those interviewed were He announced that he had eaten McDonald’s ‘Quarter Pounder’ hamburger.
Accordingly, McDonald’s temporarily removed the Quarter Pounder from the menu at stores in 10 states where food poisoning occurred and began its own investigation to determine the cause. McDonald’s explained that the initial investigation suggested that the onions used in the Quarter Pounder may have caused food poisoning.
McDonald’s has removed sliced onions from its food. Other famous fast food chains have also taken action, such as limiting the use of raw onions in their food. Yum Brands, which operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, said in a statement on this day, “We are continuing to monitor recently reported outbreaks of E. coli,” and preemptively removed raw onions from food at some stores out of an abundance of caution. He said.
Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, also released a statement on the same day and announced that about 5% of Burger King branches in the U.S. use onions distributed from Taylor Farms’ Colorado factory. He explained that although he has not been contacted by health authorities and there are no signs of disease, Taylor Farms’ onions have been discarded and other companies are restocking the onions.
Photo = Yonhap News US Foods, a major U.S. food wholesaler, also announced that some peeled and chopped onions from Taylor Farms were recalled due to the possibility of E. coli contamination. The recall targets products from Taylor Farms’ Colorado plant and does not include onions supplied to McDonald’s, the company added.
A man living in Colorado filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s, claiming that he received emergency treatment after becoming infected with E. coli after eating food there.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the previous day that raw onions may be the cause of the McDonald’s food poisoning outbreak. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that it is investigating all possibilities related to the cause of the outbreak and that the cause has not yet been confirmed.
Reporter Ahn Hye-won of Hankyung.com anhw@hankyung.com
