Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC and others pull onions after McDonald's E. coli outbreak

Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut have all pulled onions from a portion of their restaurants following reports of a “severe” E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. 

In a statement sent to TODAY.com Thursday, Oct. 24, a Burger King spokesperson said, “We have reviewed our restaurant supply given recent announcements. There is no crossover with McDonald’s for the vast majority of our onion facilities.”

But, the spokesperson added, “About 5% of our restaurants do receive onions distributed from the Taylor Farms Colorado facility.”

Burger King said that its restaurant “only uses whole, fresh onions” and that employees cut, peel, wash and slice them daily. 

“Despite no contact from health authorities and no indications of illness, we proactively asked our 5% of restaurants who received whole onions distributed by this facility to dispose of them immediately two days ago and we are in the process of restocking them from other facilities,” the statement concluded. 

A Yum! Brands spokesperson also confirmed in a statement to TODAY.com 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 will continue following supplier and regulatory guidance to ensure the ongoing safety and quality of our food.”

TODAY.com has reached out to Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC for a statement, as well.

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 an E. coli outbreak across multiple states linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. 

At the time, the CDC said investigators were trying to determine which food ingredient caused the contamination and that McDonald’s “stopped using fresh slivered onions and quarter pound beef patties in several states.”

Supplier U.S. Foods announced Oct. 23 that Taylor Farms had issued a recall notification for yellow jumbo peeled, diced and whole peeled onions “due to potential E. coli contamination.” 

TODAY.com has reached out to Taylor Farms for a statement. 

An FDA spokesperson told NBC News Oct. 24 that it was looking into the supplier as the potential source of the recent outbreak. 

“We’re looking at all possible sources,” the FDA said. 

The CDC has reported 49 cases and 10 hospitalizations due the outbreak. One death has also been reported. 

In an update shared Oct. 23, the CDC said that McDonald’s removed slivered onions and beef patties 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, the president of McDonald’s USA, spoke about the E. coli contamination while appearing on TODAY Oct. 23. 

“We are very 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 being everyone’s business. And so while the investigation continues, and we’ll continue to get into the details of those investigations, I don’t think that’s what’s important. What’s important today is that we’ve taken the action to protect the American public and promote public health.” 

He said that the company is working with the CDC as the organization continues to investigate. 

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