McDonald’s beef patties test negative for E. coli O157:H7, according to a press release from the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Multiple lots of McDonald’s brand fresh and frozen beef patties were collected from different McDonald’s locations in Colorado that are associated with a deadly E. coli O157:H7 outbreak.
All burgers from all lots were negative for the pathogen. The beef testing has been completed and the Department does not think they will need to conduct more testing.
The outbreak has sickened at least 75 people in 13 states. The case count is: Colorado (26), Iowa (1), Kansas (1), Michigan (2), Missouri (4), Montana (13), Nebraska (11), New Mexico (5), Oregon (1), Utah (5), Washington (1), Wisconsin (1), and Wyoming (4). The states added to the outbreak total are Michigan, New Mexico, and Utah. Illnesses started on September 27, 2024. The person who died lived in Colorado.
Twenty-two people have been hospitalized. And two people have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is a type of kidney failure. The person who died, an older adult, did not have HUS.
At this time, focus has zeroed in on the raw onions served on the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers which are at the center of this investigation. Taylor Farms, the supplier of slivered onions for the affected McDonald’s locations, has started a recall of yellow onions and other restaurants have pulled them from their menus.
If you ate a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burger recently and have been ill with the symptoms of an E. coli O157:H7 infection, see your doctor. And watch for signs of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication of this infection that can be fatal.