ROCK SPRINGS – Quick action by a local restaurant is believed to be protecting county residents from potential E. coli infection.
According to Sweetwater County Public Health Officer Dr. Jean Stachon, four instances of E. coli were reported in the state, with one infection reported in Sweetwater County. According to the Centers for Disease Control, infections were linked to McDonald’s restaurants serving either tainted slivered onions or Quarter Pounder burger patties. Local McDonald’s restaurants have since temporarily stopped selling the Quarter Pounders and adding slivered onions to burgers. Stachon says the measure should curb any further infections.
“The local population should be protected,” she said. “The issue has been taken care of by the restaurant.”
Dr. Stachon said the four infections have not resulted in hospitalization or death. So far, local health clinics have not reported additional infections to SweetwaterNOW and some are watching out for potential infections.
“We’ve been monitoring the situation,” Ashley Harder, the clinic manager at Sterling Urgent Care said. “We haven’t had anyone come in as of yet.”
When SweetwaterNOW contacted the local McDonald’s office for comment, it was referred to the company’s corporate press team. McDonald’s corporate offices responded to the E. coli outbreak that has occurred in several states. The company is defending the quality of the meat patties used in the Quarter Pounders, while suggesting the outbreak comes from the slivered onions it receives. McDonald’s also posted a document explaining the food safety measures it takes in handling its food, which include employee hand washing, monitoring storage and cooking processes, and daily food safety temperature checks.
McDonald’s North America Supply Chain Officer Cesar Piña said the onions used in the Quarter Pounders were sourced to a single provider serving three distribution centers in a statement posted on the company’s website. He said local restaurants were instructed to remove slivered onions from their supply and have paused distribution of slivered onions in the impacted area.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are also temporarily removing the Quarter Pounder from restaurants in the impacted area, including Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma,” he said.
According to the CDC, 49 cases of E. coli have been traced to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, which have resulted in 10 hospitalizations and one death.
