FOOD SAFETY: McDonalds E. coli O157:H7 outbreak attributed to onions ends. The FDA, CDC, and state partners investigated a multi-state outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to recalled, yellow onions distributed by Taylor Farms and served at McDonald’s restaurants in certain states. On October 22, 2024, Taylor Farms initiated a voluntary recall of yellow onions and directly notified their food service customers who were impacted. McDonald’s is no longer serving recalled onions, and there does not appear to be a continued food safety concern related to this outbreak. A total of 104 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 were reported from 14 states. State and local public health officials interviewed people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 81 people interviewed, 80 (99%) reported eating at McDonald's. Seventy-five people were able to remember specific menu items they ate at McDonald's, of which 63 (84%) reported a menu item containing fresh, slivered onions. I have always been impressed with McDonald’s commitment to food safety. Hopefully a root cause exercise of the outbreak will follow. Enableing the food sector to learn the lessons to help prevent similar cases in the future.. Ironically, just a week before the outbreak I was presenting to a group of international insurers about potential food safetyrisks. I used a hamburger as an example stating that in the past people might have focused on the meat but now the salad and vegetable ingredients might also present a significant risk. Details of CDC report here: https://lnkd.in/dkpGvg6w John Turner Dr Lisa Ackerley, CEnvH, FRSPH Mark Flanagan FCIEH CEnvH FIFST John Barnes Alec Kyriakides #Food #FoodSafety #FoodPoisoning #Health #EnvironmentalHealth #PublicHealth #FoodScience #FoodTechnology #FoodIndustry #Retail #Hospitality #Restaurant #FoodService #Ecoli #riskmanagement #farming
That was a timely discussion Sterling! In the product recall/product contamination insurance space, we continually see examples of fresh produce risks (among many other food categories) plus supply chain impacts. As you and Frank Yiannas advised previously, data science simply has to drive more informed key risk management decision making in the food safety arena to maximise impacts that will benefit consumer safety and society as a whole.
most definitely re. the salad veg that is served with most meals now - let's not forget about the risk of norovirus and Hepatitis A virus as well - and not just in the produce potentially, but also on touchscreens from unwashed hands a plenty touching them right before munching on a burger.
The biggest take away pointer for me Sterling Crew, is the interconnectivity of suppliers to food service. So many other brands were also impacted and many other products. We need to keep driving adoption of technology for faster identification, reporting and root cause of outbreaks. Sharing examples like this helps promote awareness and ultimately helps reduce outbreaks.
Well done McDonalds on a very open and transparent investigation. Great to see beef in the clear on this occasion as the finger is wrongly pointed in this direction many times without carrying out a real root cause.
Food Safety is a lot of detail and if you thing something is low risk, it can be pretty high risk but back to traceability to pin point risk. The Investigation aspect is very apeeling 😂 one for your funny puns Sterling Crew
Has there been any determination from Taylor Farms or FDA on probable root cause?
Thanks for sharing Sterling Crew - always good to remember it’s not always the obvious food that is the culprit. Kathryn Gilbertson Julia Wilson Darryl Thomson
The UK operation really was impressive interms of its operations and attituted towards food saftey (c.2003/4). I'm not easily impressed but its an near obession with them, good for customers. At the time they could tell which cow a burger came from - details are important in tracability of issues. Happy Crhistmas to you and your team.
Great advice. Food safety is key to ensuring consumer health protection and this should be part of the objectives of every food organization. Thanks for sharing
Chair of the Food Authenticity Network - Fighting food fraud..
1moHope the outbreak attributed to onions gets to the root cause.😀