McDonald's E. coli outbreak prompts onion recalls; US Foods, Sysco take action

The hunt for the source of McDonald’s E. coli outbreak has shifted to produce supplier Taylor Farms, whose Colorado facility provided onions to the more than 2,000 units of the burger chain that have pulled the sandwich off the menu. 

Taylor has not found E. coli in its onions but said it was acting out of caution. 

In the wake of that decision, foodservice distributor US Foods issued a pointed alert to the restaurants it serves, advising them to immediately stop using onions from Taylor Farms. The produce is also sold by Taylor under the brand name Cross Valley Farms.

Sysco, the industry's largest distributor, said it is also taking action. "Sysco has communicated to customers and a limited number of our sites instructions regarding the supplier-initiated recall of yellow onions that are part of the federal investigation into a recent E. coli outbreak," a spokesman said in an email. 

No other restaurant chain has disclosed an incidence of E. coli poisoning, but news reports indicate that Illegal Pete’s, a Denver-based casual-dining chain, and at least one Taco Bell franchisee in Colorado have yanked onions out of their kitchens. Illegal Pete’s is advising customers via signs on its doors that a number of menu items that normally contain the onions will be unavailable until further notice.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s is continuing with what a spokesperson said are two parallel investigations, one internal and the second in collaboration with federal health authorities. As of Wednesday morning, 49 McDonald’s customers had been sickened. Ten of them have been hospitalized and one has died.

Authorities have determined that the victims had all eaten a Quarter Pounder at a McDonald’s, leading them to focus on the sandwich’s ingredients. Onions were suspected to be the source because they’re served uncooked in slivers atop the sandwich, and all came from Taylor Farms. 

The burger patty used in the sandwich has not been ruled out as a source, but a McDonald’s spokesperson pointed out on Wednesday that the ground beef used by the affected restaurants came from a variety of suppliers. It’s unlikely that multiple processors would have suffered the same sort of contamination simultaneously, according to a McDonald’s spokesperson.

Wall Street is betting that the crisis isn’t over for McDonald’s, hammering down the price of the blue chip stock by more than 5% on Wednesday.

About a fifth of the McDonald’s system, extending across 12 states, has discontinued the sale of Quarter Pounders, one of the fast-food giant’s best sellers. From the first report of a customer being sickened until an outbreak was confirmed on Oct. 10, about 1 million of the sandwiches were sold, the spokesperson said.

Taylor Farms and US Foods did not respond to requests for comment by the time of this posting.

Update: Sysco's comments have been added to the story.