The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to check ingredients imported to Taiwan for potential Escherichia coli contamination a day after US officials linked McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers to a deadly outbreak in 10 states.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the previous day said that at least 49 people fell ill and one died after consuming contaminated burgers at the fast-food giant’s venues in states including Colorado and Nebraska.
Investigators are working to determine if beef patties or onions were the contaminated ingredient, the US agency said, adding that preliminary traceback indicated the latter.
Photo: AFP
FDA Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) told a news conference in Taipei that McDonald’s Taiwan said the ingredients used in the Classic Angus Beef Burger — the equivalent of a Quarter Pounder — are sourced from different suppliers than the franchises in the US use.
The chain’s local franchises source beef patties for the Classic Angus Beef Burger from Paraguay, Australia and New Zealand, while the onion on the burgers is from New Zealand, Lin said.
Tests volunteered by suppliers showed that the ingredients were compliant with safety standards, he said.
The FDA has recommended that local government health authorities inspect McDonald’s venues in their jurisdictions, he said, adding that the agency would confirm whether compromised ingredients were imported from the US.
Health officials routinely inspect food and drinking water for E. coli, which occurs naturally in the human digestive system and has a deadly enterohemorrhagic strain, Lin said.
Safety guidelines require beef patties to be cooked thoroughly, separate storage for raw and prepared food items, and different cutlery and chopping blocks for uncooked ingredients to avoid cross-contamination, he said.
E. coli infection is particularly dangerous for children, the FDA’s Web site says.
Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and fever, it says.
Improperly prepared beef, raw milk and contaminated water are the most frequent sources of infection, it says.
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