“McDonald’s and food-safety officials ruled out beef as the source of an E. coli outbreak linked to the chain’s Quarter Pounders, while continuing to examine onions served on the burgers,” reported the Wall Street Journal. The Colorado Department of Agriculture stated it completed dozens of tests on various patties from locations associated with the outbreak and all samples were negative for E. coli.
Based on these test results, McDonald’s announced it will begin selling quarter pounders again in the impacted restaurants this week—with no fresh onions on them for the foreseeable future, according to the WSJ.
McDonald’s said that it is still waiting on test results for onions implicated in the outbreak.
According to the WSJ, McDonald’s locations linked to the E. Coli outbreak used onions from a single supplier, Taylor Farms, that has since sent out a recall on yellow onions from its Colorado Springs, Colorado, facility. Taylor Farms said that it has not found any traces of E. coli in its tests so far.
Last week, Yum Brands QSR chains in the U.S., including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, removed fresh onions from some locations as a precautionary measure. No outbreaks were linked to any of the Yum Brands locations, but a spokesperson told the WSJ: “We will continue following supplier and regulatory guidance to ensure the ongoing safety and quality of our food.”
Produce is more difficult for restaurants to keep free of contamination than beef, reported Reuters, with the biggest difference being that beef is cooked, while fresh produce, like onions, is not. According to experts, large-scale industrial produce is washed, sanitized and tested to a similar degree that beef is, but tests cannot catch sufficiently low levels of contamination.
Food safety is critical in the convenience store industry, with foodservice representing nearly 27% of inside sales in 2023, according to NACS State of the Industry data. The 2025 NACS Food Safety Forum will be co-located with the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit in Dallas, Texas, on April 8. Sign up to be notified when registration is open.
In the meantime, keep an eye out for the December 2024 issue of NACS Magazine, which will cover the 2024 Food Safety Forum.