Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut have all removed onions from some of their restaurants following reports of a “serious” E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.
The removal comes two days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first announced in a food safety alert on its website that there was a multi-state E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.
Supplier U.S. Foods announced Wednesday that Taylor Farms had issued a recall notice for yellow jumbo peeled, diced and whole peeled onions “due to possible E. coli contamination.”
An FDA spokesperson told Facts Times News on Thursday that it was investigating the supplier as a possible source of the recent outbreak. “We are looking at all possible sources,” the FDA said.
In a statement to TODAY.com Thursday, a Burger King spokesperson said, “We have reviewed our restaurant inventory based on recent announcements. There is no overlap with McDonald’s for the vast majority of our onion facilities.”
However, the spokesperson added, “Approximately 5% of our restaurants receive onions distributed from the Taylor Farms Colorado facility.”
Burger King said the restaurant “uses only whole, fresh onions” and that employees cut, peel, wash and slice them daily.
“Despite no contact with health authorities and no evidence of illness, we proactively asked our 5% of restaurants that received whole onions distributed from this facility to immediately discard them two days ago and are in the process of restocking them from other facilities,” the statement concluded.
.
A spokesperson for Yum! Brands also confirmed that onions were removed from some of its Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC locations.
“As we continue to monitor the recently reported E. coli outbreak and out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed fresh onions from select Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants,” the spokesperson said. “We continue to follow guidance from suppliers and regulators to ensure the continued safety and quality of our food.”
TODAY.com has reached out to Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC for comment.
The CDC has reported 49 cases and 10 hospitalizations due to the E. coli outbreak at McDonald’s. There has also been one reported death.
After the food safety warning was issued, the CDC said investigators were trying to determine what food ingredient caused the contamination and that McDonald’s “has stopped using fresh onion chips and quarter-pounder beef burgers in several states.”
In an update shared Wednesday, the CDC said McDonald’s has removed onion chips and beef burgers from some locations in the following states: Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and parts of Idaho.
Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, spoke about the E. coli contamination on TODAY on Wednesday.
“We are confident that you can go to McDonald’s and enjoy our classics,” he said. “We took swift action yesterday to remove the Quarter Pounder from our menu.”
He later added: “This is something that we talk about as if it were anyone’s business. And so as the investigation continues, and we continue to dive into the details of those investigations, I don’t think that’s important. What’s important today is that we took action to protect the American public and promote public health.” He said the company is working with the CDC as the agency continues its investigation.