Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell have followed McDonald’s lead and stopped using fresh onions in their foods, citing them as the most likely source of a deadly E. coli outbreak in Western states .
Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants, said in a statement that it has “proactively” removed onions from its menu. There is no evidence so far that anyone has become ill after eating from one of the restaurants. those restaurants.
It comes after recoveries from the death of a Colorado man that investigators have linked to the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, which includes onions.
So far, 10 have been hospitalized and 49 have fallen ill after eating McDonald’s burgers in multiple Mountain West states.
Researchers are now trying to determine whether the onions that could be behind the wave of illness have been distributed to supermarkets, suggesting the outbreak could become much bigger.
The Burger King Whopper contains onions, although there are no indications yet that people have become ill from eating at a Burger King
California-based Taylor Farms has recalled several batches of yellow onions after the FDA highlighted the vegetable as the “likely source of contamination.”
McDonald’s said it would stop using the onions and has halted sales of Quarter Pounders in restaurants in Colorado, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma.
A spokesperson for Yum Brands said, “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.
We will continue to follow supplier and regulator guidelines to ensure the continued safety and quality of our food.
At Taco Bell, onions are added to the beef mix in some items, such as the Crunchwrap Supreme and the beef burrito. Onions are also often used as a topping on soft tacos and Mexican pizza.
At KFC, onions are typically added upon request, while at Pizza Hut, while many of the pizzas contain onions, customers can ask for these to be excluded.
At Burger King, the Whopper (and the double and junior versions) contain raw onions, just like the other cheeseburgers on the menu.
A spokesperson for Restaurant Brands International, owner of Burger King, said: ‘Despite no contact from health authorities and no indications of illness, we proactively asked our 5 percent of restaurants that received whole onions distributed through this facility to immediately throw away for two days. ago and we are in the process of replenishing them from other facilities.’
Burger King owns approximately 6,960 restaurants in the US, and the latest recall affects more than 300 of them.
McDonald’s has since removed Quarter Pounders from the menu in about a fifth of its restaurants.
The company has discontinued the use of onion and quarter-pound beef patties in several states, including Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma. , while the investigation is still ongoing, the CDC said.
For its part, Taylor Farms said none of its products tested positive for the bacteria that kills up to a fifth of people who become ill, and that the recall was a precautionary measure.
Four products were included in the recall: peeled large yellow onions, two types of diced fresh yellow onions and whole, peeled yellow onions.
Researchers have not ruled out McDonald’s hamburger patties as a potential source.
McDonald’s also said its beef patties are all cooked to a temperature of 175F, which would kill E. coli, which cannot survive above 160F.
Sources say efforts to trace the source of the outbreak have focused on onions as the patties used in Quarter Pounders in the affected states came from different sources.
Symptoms of an E. coli infection usually begin about four days after eating contaminated food and may include diarrhea and severe stomach cramps.
It is important to seek medical attention if these symptoms last more than two days, or if the person develops a fever above 102 degrees or shows signs of dehydration.