McDonald's on Wednesday pulled the menu from restaurants in 12 states as it scrambled to contain the fallout from an E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder burger, which has killed one person and sickened nearly 50. .
The outbreak has sickened people in the West and Midwest, with 10 people hospitalized with severe complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is investigating the outbreak.
A McDonald's spokesperson said the outbreak is limited to the United States.
“We expect many more cases to occur,” CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said. “McDonald's took action fairly quickly to prevent as many infections as possible.”
Previous E. coli outbreaks at major U.S. fast food chains caused consumers to avoid those chains for months.
McDonald's President Joe Erlinger said Wednesday that the company needs to rebuild trust with the public after five of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants took the product off the menu. Ta.
The company operates McDonald's stores in Colorado, Kansas, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as select stores in Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Removed Quarter Pounder from the menu.
The CDC and McDonald's are examining shredded onions and beef patties supplied by the Chicago-based company to determine the cause of the outbreak, the company said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced late Wednesday that the onions used were likely the source of the illness, but one of the agency's partners is testing beef samples for E. coli.
The company's shares closed 5.1% lower at $298.57 on Wednesday. The stock hit an intraday low of $290.88.
“A very serious illness”
The E. coli O157:H7 strain that caused the McDonald's outbreak is the same strain associated with the 1993 Jack in the Box attack that killed four children.
Shari Shea, director of food safety at the Association of Public Health Laboratories, said it can cause “very serious illness”, especially for the elderly, children and people with weakened immune systems.
McDonald's suppliers frequently test their products and did so within the date range specified by the CDC for the outbreak, but none of them identified this strain of E. coli, a company spokesperson said. Ta.
Bill Marler, a U.S. food safety lawyer who represented victims of the Jack in the Box outbreak, said it was a relatively large and serious outbreak and that McDonald's held “significant” liability for the contamination. He said that he would be forced to pay.
“We're still in the early stages of how McDonald's will address this issue,” he said. “But if you're confident that your onion supplier is the source of your onions, it's going to be very important to get rid of that supplier.”
Mahler, who in the 1990s almost exclusively handled cases involving contaminated beef, said in recent years E. coli outbreaks have been confined almost exclusively to produce contaminated by irrigation or the introduction of feces from nearby cows. said. E. coli is a natural pathogen present in the intestines of cows.
Jim Lewis, a franchisee in New York City for more than 30 years before leaving the system in 2019, said McDonald's was adamant about protecting its beef supply chain when E. coli became a major concern decades ago. He said that he was
“They went above and beyond to make sure that never happened,” he said.
He said McDonald's has historically been “the safest and strongest food chain in the world.” So this is devastating for us internally. ”
Analysts have warned that the outbreak could be a potential negative factor for McDonald's performance.
CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram said: “The worst-case scenario is that more people get sick and multiple raw materials and suppliers are affected. This could be prolonged. “This could potentially damage the brand.”
During an appearance on NBC's “Today” show on Wednesday, McDonald's CEO Erlinger pointed to the company's actions to quickly remove Quarter Pounders from menus in areas where outbreaks have occurred.
“Given the events of the past 24 hours, our priority is to strengthen U.S. consumer confidence,” he said.
In the past, two notable E. coli outbreaks at Chipotle Mexican Grill in 2015 and Jack in the Box in 1993 took a toll on sales at these chains.
Raymond James analyst Brian Vaccaro said it took Chipotle a year and a half to stabilize, while Jack in the Box sales declined for four straight quarters.
Chipotle stock fell nearly 50% from 2015 to 2018, when cases of norovirus infections were reported following an E. coli outbreak.
Analysts say McDonald's fourth-quarter sales could come under some pressure from the outbreak, but it's too early to tell whether it will be worse than the past two E. coli infections. he pointed out.
