Yum! Brands Inc. and burger King pulled onions from a few of its restaurants while the restaurant industry looks into an E. Coli infection that was initially linked to McDonald’s Corp.
Yum said in a statement to Bloomberg News on Thursday that it has removed fresh onions from a few Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC restaurants “out of an abundance of caution,” without identifying the suppliers or revealing which locations and areas were impacted.
Reason Behind KFC and Burger King Decision
E. coli (Escherichia coli) infections connected to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers have resulted in at least ten hospitalizations and one death in Colorado earlier this week.
Pizza Hut’s salads and specialty pizzas, as well as KFC’s highly-liked menu items that include fresh onions, are likely to be impacted by the three fast food restaurants’ decision to eliminate onions.
The McDonald’s restaurants affected by the epidemic received part of their onions from a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado, Burger King announced Thursday.
Even though as of Wednesday there were no E. coli levels detected, Taylor Farms recalled some of their yellow onion batches.
Following the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement on Tuesday that a pre-slivered onion outbreak likely linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders caused dozens of illnesses and one fatality in the US, the food industry is on high alert.
According to Burger King, its restaurants purchase whole onions that have been sliced, peeled, and chopped.
McDonald’s is collaborating with health authorities to identify the source of the contamination and has removed the well-known food from 20% of its more than 13,000 locations in the US.
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