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    The last cases, remember the onion, more

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    Seventy-five people in 13 states sickened in E. coli outbreak attributed to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said in an update Friday.

    First announced by the agency on Tuesday, the outbreak was initially reported after it sickened 49 in 10 states and killed one. As of Oct. 24, the 75 total illnesses in 13 states included 22 hospitalizations and one death in Colorado. Two people also developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure.

    So far, investigators and McDonald’s believe the Quarter Pounder is the only menu item affected. While health agencies are still making a definitive identification, it’s believed to be the chopped raw onions served on the burgers and not the beef patties themselves.

    As reported cases spread rapidly, so did McDonald’s locations remove the burger from its menus. A number of onion withdrawals have also been initiated.

    Here’s what you need to know so far about the E. coli outbreak at McDonald’s.

    Which McDonald’s products are affected?

    Quarter Pounders are currently the only McDonald’s menu item known to be affected by the E. coli outbreak. Investigators believe the source ingredient may be the chopped onions on the burgers, not the meat itself.

    Food safety experts told USA TODAY on Wednesday, however, that there is still a possibility of cross-contamination in restaurants that received potentially adulterated products.

    The restaurant chain said Wednesday it had taken Quarter Pounder on the menu in a fifth of its restaurants.

    Which countries are affected by the E.coli outbreak?

    As of Friday, 13 states had reported illnesses related to the E. coli outbreak, According to the CDC.

    • COLORADO
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Missouri
    • mountain
    • Nebraska
    • New Mexico
    • Oregon
    • Utah
    • Washington
    • Wisconsin
    • Wyoming

    Colorado has the most cases at 26, followed by Montana with 13 and Nebraska with 11. The rest of the states have reported five or fewer cases.

    75 people got E. coli from McDonald’s: What are the symptoms? How can you avoid this?

    States where Quarter Pounder sales have been suspended

    McDonald’s said in a statement that Quarter Pounders were removed from restaurants in the following states:

    • COLORADO
    • Kansas
    • Utah
    • Wyoming

    It was also removed in portions from:

    • Idaho
    • Iowa
    • Missouri
    • mountain
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Mexico
    • Oklahoma

    Is it safe to eat at McDonalds?

    “I think it’s a little too early to say that McDonald’s is safe to eat,” Food safety advocate Bill Marler told USA TODAY on Wednesday.

    Because onions are served fresh, they can become tainted with E. coli through fecal contamination, which can occur through sewage, grow-area water, fertilizer and proximity to livestock, said Marler and food industry consultant Bryan Quoc Le. .

    McDonald’s said its suppliers peel, slice and re-peel the onions before they are packaged and refrigerated. She added that her regular burgers use diced onions, different from the chopped onions associated with the hotpot. The chain also said it is working in tandem with health officials to quickly resolve the issue.

    Quoc Le said beyond the Quarter Pounder, “there shouldn’t be any concern about consuming” other McDonald’s products. “McDonald’s is pretty good at logistics and distribution, and so they can recall a lot of their products pretty quickly.”

    “I mean, for now, probably for the next couple of days, you can avoid the Quarter Pounder, but the rest of the items I don’t see there being a problem,” he added.

    Is McDonald’s safe to eat? Quarter Pounders linked to the E. coli outbreak has some concerns

    The onion remembers

    US Foods, one of the nation’s largest distributors to restaurants and other food service companies, issued a recall for diced, peeled and peeled raw onions from its third-party supplier Taylor Farms Colorado on Thursday, citing “potential E. coli contamination.”

    One of Taylor Farms’ production facilities also supplied onions to McDonald’s in areas affected by the E. coli outbreaks, McDonald’s told USA TODAY on Thursday. However, the recalled Taylor Farms Colorado onions were unrelated to the company’s removal of Quarter Pounders, the company said.

    The Taylor Farms recall includes:

    • 30-pound bags of peeled jumbo yellow onions
    • 4/5-pound bags of fresh yellow onions cut into 3/8-inch dice
    • 5 kilo bags of fresh diced yellow onions
    • 6/5 pound bags of whole yellow onions, peeled

    Yum Brands, Burger King are removing onions from some locations

    Yum Brands also announced Thursday would remove onions from select locations of its Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in the wake of the McDonald’s outbreak. Burger King has announced that some locations will pull onions after receiving them from Taylor Farms Colorado, according to multiple reports.

    “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,” Yum Brands said in a statement to the U.S. TODAY. . “We will continue to follow supplier and regulatory guidance to ensure the continued safety and quality of our food.”

    The company did not respond to further questions about the locations where the onions were removed or who the onion supplier is for those restaurants.

    Lawsuits and investigations

    Currently, health agencies are still investigating the outbreak, including the FDA, CDC and USDA.

    The FDA is “using all available tools to confirm whether onions are the source of this outbreak,” spokeswoman Janell Goodwin said Thursday. “This includes working with federal and state partners and the companies involved to collect and evaluate distribution records and information as part of our follow-up investigation. FDA and state partners are also collecting onion samples for analysis.”

    Meanwhile, however, the first trial of the outbreak has already been introduced.

    Filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, the lawsuit alleges that Eric Stelly ate food from the Greeley, Colorado, McDonald’s three weeks ago and began experiencing symptoms including nausea, cramps and bloody stools — the more “common symptom” of E. coli poisoning, according to press release from Houston attorney Ron Simon, one of his lawyers in the civil case.

    The 10-page lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY accuses McDonald’s of negligence, product liability and other claims involving illness.

    Contribute: Eduardo Cuevas and Max HauptmannUSA TODAY

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