McDonald’s is bringing back Quarter Pounders to 900 restaurants after the outbreak

Key takeaways

McDonald’s announced that following last week’s E. coli outbreak, McDonald’s will again deliver Quarter Pounders to approximately 900 restaurants in Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming, as well as portions of nine other states.
Company officials identified chopped onion from distributor Taylor Farms’ plant in Colorado Springs as the likely source and will not serve it on the burger once sales resume.
Many other chains, such as Taco Bell and Burger King, said they also recalled onions from the same Taylor Farms plant.

McDonald’s (MCD) will bring Quarter Pounders back to the menu of more than 900 restaurants in Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming, as well as portions in nine other states, after E. coli outbreak last week.

Company officials identified chopped onion from distributor Taylor Farms’ plant in Colorado Springs as the likely source and will not serve it on the burger once sales resume.

The fast food giant said Sunday that tests by the Colorado Department of Agriculture ruled out the source of the outbreak was the beef patties used in the burgers.

“The issue appears to be related to a specific ingredient and geographic location, so we are confident that any contaminated products associated with the outbreak have been removed from our supply chain and are no longer in any McDonald’s restaurants,” said Cesar Piña, McDonald’s chief procurement officer Chain Officer for North America.

Quarter pounders without onions are back on the menu

McDonald’s said it has asked suppliers to resume deliveries of beef patties to affected restaurants in more than a dozen states and plans to return them to menus without onions until further notice.

Rivals Yum! Brands (Yum) – the parent company of Taco Bell and KFC – and the owner of Burger King Restaurant Brands International (QSRThey also reportedly recalled chopped onions that came from the Colorado Springs Taylor Farms facility.

McDonald’s shares, which fell more than 7% last week, rose 2% after markets opened on Monday. The network will likely provide further updates on the outbreak on its website third quarter earnings report on Tuesday.