McDonald’s is investing $100 million to accelerate recovery and support its hardest-hit franchisees after a crisis. outbreak of food poisoning due to E. coli tied to onions on the fast-food giant’s Quarter Pounder burgers, the company told CBS News in a statement Saturday.
“A total of $65 million will be invested to support franchisees who have lost sales, targeting those in the states hardest hit,” the company also told CBS News.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that chopped onions on Quarter Pounders were the likely source of the E. coli. Taylor Farms in California recalled onions possibly linked to the outbreak.
The E. coli outbreak has sickened 104 people in 14 states, federal health officials said in a update on Wednesday.
At least 34 people have been hospitalized and four developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious condition that can cause kidney failure. An 88 year old man who… lived in Grand JunctionColorado, died, as previously reported. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the illnesses began in late September and the most recent onset of the illness occurred on October 21.
The Food and Drug Administration has said that “there does not appear to be any ongoing food safety concerns associated with this outbreak at McDonald’s restaurants.”
However, the outbreak hurt the company’s revenue.
Quarter Pounders were removed from menus in several states in the early days of the outbreak.
In a statement obtained by CBS News on Wednesday, McDonald’s said it has found an “alternative supplier” for the approximately 900 restaurants that have temporarily stopped serving Quarter Pounders with chopped onions.
“This past week, these restaurants resumed sales of Quarter Pounder burgers with sliced onions,” McDonald’s said.
