The number of people that became ill from an E. coli outbreak linked to raw onions served on McDonald's Quarter Pounders weeks ago has climbed, but there no longer appears to be any food safety concerns at the fast food giant's restaurants, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA said in an update Wednesday that 104 confirmed cases of the E. coli O157:H7 strain have now been identified across 14 states, and hospitalizations have climbed to 34. Four victims have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure. One death was linked to the outbreak early on, and no more fatalities have been reported.
The FDA believes raw onions served as a topping on Quarter Pounders are the most likely source of the outbreak after beef was ruled out as a likely source. The agency said it has completed inspections at the Colorado processing plant of Taylor Farms, which supplied recalled onions to McDonald's, and an unnamed onion farm in Washington state.
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Upon discovery of the outbreak, McDonald's removed Quarter Pounders from the menu at 900 of its restaurants in the impacted areas, and stopped purchasing onions processed at Taylor Farms' Colorado Springs facility.
After ruling out beef as the source of the outbreak, McDonald's resumed selling Quarter Pounders at the 900 impacted stores, but without onions. In an update Wednesday, McDonald's said that it has found an alternative onion supplier for those locations and began serving the Quarter Pounder with onions again at those restaurants over the past week.
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The areas affected by the E. coli outbreak are in Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah.
The outbreak also expanded to North Carolina this week. However, McDonald's noted that the CDC categorizes reported cases based on "where sick people live," but travel is also a potential factor.
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The company added that a select number of McDonald's restaurants impacted by the outbreak were in transportation hubs, such as airports, which account for illnesses in additional states.
