McDonald’s is being sued over an E. coli outbreak that’s left one person dead and made at least 75 others sick in the U.S.
E. coli are bacteria (germs) that can help with digestion and vitamin production. However, some types of E. coli can cause minor to severe illness.
According to thefrom health officials, 13 U.S. states have been affected by a recent outbreak — linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers.
The fast-food giant is now facing legal proceedings in two separate suits.
The outbreak
Last week, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an E. coli outbreak linked to several McDonald’s across America’s Midwest.
The type of E. coli at the centre of the outbreakcramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting.
The CDC said “most sick people” had reported eating McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers. It confirmed the death of “an older adult in Colorado”.
Onions are the likely source of contamination after recent testing ruled beef patties out.
Since Tuesday, the CDC has reported one death, 75 infections, and 22 hospitalisations across 13 states.
Two people are being treated for “a serious condition that can cause kidney failure,” resulting from their infection.
McDonald’s has temporarily stopped using slivered onions in its Quarter Pounders in the affected states.
In an update on Sunday, McDonald’s said: “The issue appears to be contained to a particular ingredient and geography, and we remain very confident that [it] has been removed from our supply chain and is out of all McDonald’s restaurants.”
Lawsuits
Last week, a U.S. law firm said it was investigating the “multistate E. coli outbreak” linked to McDonald’s.
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Ron Simon & Associates said at least 16 families have come forward against the fast-food brand. So far, it has filed two separate lawsuits in an Illinois court.
The first is on behalf of a Colorado man who was reportedly hospitalised after eating “from his local McDonald’s” on 4 October.
His lawyers said he experienced common symptoms of E. coli poisoning including cramps, nausea, and dehydration.
The second lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a Nebraska woman, who tested positive for a strain of E. coli in an emergency department last month.
The woman reportedly became sick after visiting her local McDonald’s on 18 September.
A statement from Ron Simon & Associates on Thursday said the woman was continuing “to recover from the effects of E. coli food poisoning”.
The law firm is seeking compensation from McDonald’s to pay for its clients’ “medical bills, lost wages and more.”
Onions
Testing confirmed there was no E. coli present in Quarter Pounder beef patty samples taken from restaurants in the impacted areas.
Health authorities are continuing to investigate an onion grower in Colorado, which supplied 900 McDonald’s restaurants across the affected states.
McDonald’s said it has taken “swift and decisive action” to respond to the outbreak, but warned, “with increased awareness, more people will seek medical attention and case counts will grow.”
McDonald’s
McDonald’s North America Chief Supply Chain Officer Cesar Piña said all “contaminated products” had been removed from its restaurants.
Mcdonald’s will continue to serve Quarter Pounders without slivered onions in the 13 impacted states, as inquiries continue, Piña said.
“Serving customers safely in every single restaurant, each and every day, is our top priority… we take food safety extremely seriously and it’s the right thing to do.”
