Onion Recall Issued Over McDonald's E. coli Outbreak

US Foods, a supplier for Taylor Farms, notified its restaurant customers by letter of a voluntary recall by the produce company for its onions. The Taylor Farms recall encompasses peeled whole onions and diced fresh yellow onions.

The major food supplier to restaurants told customers to stop using the onions and destroy them. Other businesses, including Illegal Pete's (a Colorado restaurant chain) and Taco Bell, also pulled onions from their menus as a precaution.

Colorado news station KKTV shared that an Illegal Pete's company email said: “Managers on duty were instructed to follow the recall process laid out by US Foods and dispose of any affected onions AS WELL as any prepped foods that were prepared with the effected onions."

 The voluntary recall was issued even though Taylor Farms hadn't found E. coli in its onions. The recall includes peeled, whole, and diced yellow onions.

People in 10 states became sick due to E. coli, and most are reporting eating the same thing from McDonald’s. The CDC lists these states where McDonald's removed slivered onions and beef patties: Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, and portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

On October 23, 2024, McDonald's announced it was taking the Quarter Pounder hamburger off its menu until further notice due to possible E. coli contamination. The restaurant chain listed the possibility at the time of two ingredients being affected: the onions or the beef. People in 10 states have been sick, yet most are in Colorado and Nebraska.

CDC along with FDA, USDA FSIS, and public health officials in multiple states are investigating the outbreak of infections.