US fast-food chains including Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell have all pulled fresh onions from some of their restaurants after an E coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder sandwiches sickened dozens of people and killed one.
Burger King’s parent company, Restaurant Brands International, and Yum Brands, both of which operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, had made the announcement on Thursday as McDonald’s named a California-based supplier as the source of onions associated with the food poisonings.
Illegal Pete’s, a Mexican fast-food chain based in Colorado, additionally announced that it had temporarily pulled several items on the menu that include onions.
McDonald’s withdrew its Quarter Pounder from about one in five outlets in the US after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) linked the item to cases of food poisoning in 10 states earlier this week.
According to health authorities, about 49 people have fallen ill, mostly in Colorado and Nebraska, including one older adult who died.
Authorities have identified the bacteria behind the illnesses as E coli O157:H7, and this bacteria is responsible for more than 2,000 hospitalisations and 61 deaths in the US each year, according to the CDC.
The symptoms of E coli poisoning can occur within a day or two of ingesting contaminated food and it typically includes fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and signs of dehydration.
E coli is very dangerous for young children and those who are elderly, pregnant or have compromised immune systems.
