McDonald’s restaurants in Taiwan source ingredients from different locations than in the US, McDonald's Taiwan said today, after one person died and dozens fell sick following a severe Escherichia coli (E coli) outbreak linked to the chain’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers in the western US.
The onion slivers used in Taiwan McDonald’s locations are from New Zealand, while the beef patties are from Paraguay, New Zealand and Australia, the company said in a statement.
Both are different sources from US locations, it said, adding that all ingredients have been inspected by the suppliers and meet food safety standards.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The outbreak, which began late last month, spans 10 western states with most of the 49 cases concentrated in Colorado and Nebraska, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday.
Ten people have been hospitalized, including one child with hemolytic uremic syndrome — a serious condition that damages blood vessels in the kidneys.
"One older person in Colorado has died," the CDC said in a statement.
All affected people carried the same strain of E coli and reported eating at McDonald's before developing their symptoms, with most specifically recalling having had Quarter Pounders.
While investigators have not yet pinpointed the exact ingredient causing the outbreak, they are focusing on slivered onions and beef patties — both of which have been removed from restaurants in the affected states pending further investigation.
"Food safety is so important to me and everyone at McDonald's," McDonald's USA president Joe Erlinger said in a video message. "We've taken steps to proactively remove slivered onions, which are used in Quarter Pounders, in select states.”
"We've also made the decision to temporarily remove the Quarter Pounder from restaurants in select states," he said, adding that the majority of states are not affected.
In affected states, other menu items including other beef products remain available.
The agency advised those who consumed a Quarter Pounder and developed symptoms of E coli poisoning — such as diarrhea, a fever over 38.9°C and vomiting — to seek medical attention.
Symptoms typically begin three to four days after exposure, and most people recover within five to seven days without treatment.
However, some cases can become severe and require hospitalization.
Additional reporting by CNA
STRONG RELATIONSHIPS: China would not blockade Taiwan, because President Xi respects him, and Russia would not have invaded if he were president, he said Former US president and the Republican candidate in next month’s presidential election Donald Trump said he would impose additional tariffs on China if China were to “go into Taiwan,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. “I would say: If you go into Taiwan, I’m sorry to do this, I’m going to tax you, at 150 percent to 200 percent,” Trump was quoted as saying in an interview with the WSJ published on Friday. Asked if he would use military force against a blockade on Taiwan by China, Trump said it would not come to that because Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) respected
HACKERS’ MARKET: Chat logs about Taiwan and documents outlining ways to take over online accounts were leaked from a company that sells data from hacks Taiwanese cybersecurity specialists found 577 leaked documents which show that the Chinese Communist Party is engaging in “cognitive warfare” against Taiwan through cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, a documentary released last month by Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed. The filmmakers behind Tracking China’s Leaked Documents said they spent six months visiting seven countries, including Taiwan, where they interviewed members of TeamT5, a malware research and cybersecurity firm, which found the leaked documents. TeamT5 said they discovered a string of mysterious URLs on the social media platform X, which they suspected could be accounts created by hackers or people who leaked data, which led
The Taipei Department of Transportation discouraged YouBike 2.0E users from taking them on long-distance trips after a Taipei city councilor said that riders often use the new electric bike, YouBike 2.0E, to climb Yangmingshan (陽明山). Taipei earlier this year began offering the first 30 minutes of YouBike 2.0 rentals for free, with Taipei and New Taipei offering the YouBike 2.0E on Aug. 30 to encourage rider usage. For YouBike 2.0, the rate is NT$10 per 30 minutes within the first four hours, NT$20 per 30 minutes for five to eight hours and NT$40 per 30 minutes after eight hours. Meanwhile, for e-bikes,
RESOURCE RICH: Taiwan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire and has up to 30 gigawatts of the potential energy, of which 10 gigawatts could be economically viable Academia Sinica and CPC Corp yesterday began drilling the nation’s first deep geothermal well in Yilan County’s Yuanshan Township (員山). The 4km-deep well is expected to take 18 months to complete and has an estimated investment of NT$337 million (US$10.54 million), Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said. “While Taiwan has up to 30 gigawatts of potential deep geothermal energy, with an estimated 10 gigawatts being economically viable, only by digging wells can we determine the actual amount of commercially viable geothermal energy,” Liao said at the project’s opening ceremony. Data collected during and after the excavation process would be used for future