White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that President Joe Biden‘s administration is taking news of an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers “very seriously.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday that 49 cases of E. coli have been reported in 10 states between September 27 and October 11, with most of the illnesses in Colorado and Nebraska. Ten people have been hospitalized, and one person in Colorado has died.
The CDC has reported that slivered onions appear to be the source of the reported illnesses. McDonald’s said it has “out of an abundance of caution” stopped selling its Quarter Pounder burgers in restaurants across Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma, while it determines the cause of the outbreak.
These establishments account for one-fifth of McDonald’s U.S. restaurants.
A person enters a McDonald’s restaurant during breakfast hours on Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska. Nearly 50 people were sickened with E. coli in 10 states, with three people hospitalized in the Omaha area, after eating at McDonald’s restaurants. The E. coli outbreak has been linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.
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Cesar Piña, McDonald’s North America chief supply chain officer, said Wednesday in a statement that the fast-food chain was informed late last week about a potential connection to an E. coli outbreak. At that time, the number of linked cases was smaller than the current count, but the company did not disclose the specific number of cases at that earlier stage.
At Wednesday’s press briefing, Jean-Pierre replied to a question about the safety of the American food supply and the McDonald’s outbreak.
“The administration’s top priority is make sure Americans are safe. The CDC as it relates to McDonald’s, specifically, is working to determine the source as we speak,” Jean-Pierre said. “What I would suggest is that families must follow the latest CDC guidance.”
She continued: “Going back to this particular outbreak with McDonald’s, I understand that the company has halted sales of product to protect customers. The CDC is in touch with local authorities to prevent infections. The president wants to make sure the American people are safe. It is a top priority for us, and the CDC is on top of this.”
During a typical two-week period, McDonald’s usually sells around 1 million Quarter Pounders in the affected regions, the company representatives said.
In afternoon trading, McDonald’s shares have declined by 5 percent amid investors’ concern that the outbreak might result in a sales downturn for the fast-food giant.
Update 10/23/24, 3:23 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information and background.
