Why McDonald's Just Put The Quarter Pounder Back On The Menu In All Locations
McDonald's customers in certain regions of the U.S. are once again able to order the popular Quarter Pounder burger, after it was briefly removed from menus in certain states in response to an E. coli outbreak. A press release posted to the McDonald's website on October 27, 2024 confirms that the fast food chain's ground beef patties — originally a suspected carrier of the germs — are not the source of the food poisoning outbreak.
After testing by the Colorado Department of Agriculture, McDonald's patties were found to contain no trace of E. coli. North American Chief Supply Chain Officer Cesar Piña stated in the press release, "[We] remain very confident that any contaminated product related to this outbreak has been removed from our supply chain and is out of all McDonald's restaurants."
The outbreak investigation remains ongoing, as public health officials continue to search for what caused the contamination. Currently, the CDC has reported a total of 75 cases of illness connected to the Quarter Pounders, including 22 hospitalizations and one death across 13 states. Additionally, McDonald's stores in the regions involved in the E. coli investigation will still be passing up on one key ingredient: onions.
Why Quarter Pounders are currently served without onions
While the Quarter Pounder's fresh, never frozen burger patties have been cleared by the CDA, the investigation continues to focus on slivered onions provided by Colorado Springs supply facility Taylor Farms. Onions used on the famed burger and supplied by the company are another suspected source of the germs. McDonald's will be serving Quarter Pounders without onions until the contaminated ingredient has been identified and contained. This affects 900 McDonald's stores in various states identified in the McDonald's press release.
Following the news of potentially contaminated products from Taylor Farms, other major fast food chains also removed onions from some locations out of an abundance of caution, including KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Burger King. Until the CDC confirms a specific ingredient as the source, public health officials will continue to look closely at the area's onion supply, and local McDonald's customers will have to enjoy their burgers a bit differently.