A new report from the Food and Drug Administration reveals dozens of food safety violations at the McDonald’s onion supplier linked to a nationwide outbreak of E. coli that sickened over a hundred people.
CBS News obtained the report via a Freedom of Information Act request, which details the FDA’s recent inspection of a food production facility in Colorado run by Taylor Farms. It describes numerous food safety concerns at the facility, such as a lack of proper contamination control and dirty equipment. The McDonald’s E. coli outbreak was traced back to contaminated onions produced by Taylor Farms, particularly the slivered onions exclusively used on Quarter Pounder burgers.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first reported the outbreak in late October. Ultimately, at least 104 cases across 14 states were documented, which led to 34 hospitalizations and one death. Though some other fast food chains temporarily pulled their own onion products out of caution, the outbreak was solely linked to fresh slivered onions supplied by the company Taylor Farms. Taylor Farms went on to issue a large recall of its other onion products, though no further cases outside of McDonald’s appeared to have occurred.
After switching to a different onion supplier, McDonald’s soon returned the Quarter Pounder and slivered onions to its menu. By early December, government health officials declared the outbreak over. But the FDA’s report points to glaring problems at Taylor Farms that might have allowed the outbreak to emerge in the first place.
The FDA’s inspections took place between October 28 and November 12, 2024. Though some of the report is redacted, the intact portions detail several food safety violations at Taylor Farms’ Colorado facility. FDA inspectors discovered “numerous equipment with apparent biofilm and large amounts of food debris,” for instance. Inspectors also found areas where “recontamination of environmental pathogens could occur” as well as production rooms kept at temperatures that could allow germs to grow, such as the bacteria Listeria. In one particular instance, inspectors found pooling water in an area that had earlier in the year tested positive for Listeria. Workers also apparently only sometimes used hand sanitizers when handling “ready-to-eat” foods, and several cutting boards used to chop “ready-to-eat” lettuce and celery were found to be “severely discolored” and filled with deep cracks and crevices.
In a statement to CBS News, Taylor Farms said the report did not result in “administrative or regulatory action” taken against the company, and that it has taken steps to remedy the issues found. “Taylor Farms is confident in our best-in-class food safety processes, and in turn, the quality and safety of our products. As is common following an inspection, FDA issued observations of conditions that could be improved at one of our facilities,” Taylor Farms told CBS News.
By some measures, food safety has never been better in the U.S. Annually reported foodborne illnesses are down from a decade ago, for instance, though these only capture a small percentage of total cases. At the same time, the incidence of common germs such as Listeria and Salmonella hasn’t changed in recent years, while the incidence has increased for other diseases like Campylobacter and Cyclospora. And overall, the U.S. is not on track to reach the lower rates of foodborne disease set as a goal by the federal government for 2030.
The McDonald’s E. coli outbreak was substantially less dangerous than the infamous Jack-in-the-Box E. coli outbreak that occurred in the early 1990s, which sickened over 700 people and killed four people. But it highlights the reality that today’s food supply still isn’t free of its issues.
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