Is Louisiana Next? McDonald’s Removes Quarter Pounder from Menu

LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA: Is Louisiana Next? McDonald's has stopped selling their popular quarter pound burgers at around 20% of their locations because of an E. coli outbreak. We’ve got all the info you need.

According to a CBS News report, this E. coli outbreak has made more than 50 people sick and led to one death..

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Since McDonald's found out about the outbreak, they've sold over 1 million of the burgers. Company officials think the infection rate would be higher if it were linked to the burger patties, so they suspect the onions used in the burgers might be the problem.

So far, infections have been reported in these states: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The CDC is reporting that McDonald's has also decided to go ahead and stop using the suspected onions as well:

McDonald's has stopped using fresh slivered onions and quarter pound beef patties in several states. McDonald's is proactively making these changes while investigators work to confirm the contaminated ingredient. Quarter pound beef patties are only used on Quarter Pounders. Fresh slivered onions are primarily used on Quarter Pounder hamburgers and not other menu items.

 

We could see the quarter pounder being removed from Louisiana restaurants as infections spread with this outbreak to help keep customers safe from getting sick.

Call your medical provider or go to the emergency room if you've recently eaten a quarter pounder and you have the following symptoms:

• Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
• Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
• Bloody diarrhea
• So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
• Signs of dehydration
• Reduced urination
• Dry mouth and throat
• Feeling dizzy when standing up