An E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders has sent 49 people to the hospital and has been linked to one death.
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Conway Gittens: Stocks are under pressure Wednesday as interest rates in the bond market remain elevated. Comments from some members of the Federal Reserve suggest the economy won’t need as many interest rate cuts as earlier believed. Meanwhile, earnings season is providing little upside. Starbucks pre-announced somber quarterly results and withdrew its forecast for the year.
Turning to other headlines – An E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s has resulted in one death and sickened 49 people. At least 10 of those people were so sick they had to be sent to the hospital.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak started in September and stretches across 10 states. Most of the cases were in Colorado.
The CDC says most of the people started feeling ill after eating a Quarter Pounder hamburger. Right now the focus is on the slivered onions used on the burger as the source of the sickness. According to McDonald’s, this ingredient was sourced from a single supplier that serves three of its distribution centers. In a statement posted on its website, McDonald’s says “The health and safety of our people and customers is our top priority.” McDonald’s has temporarily pulled the item off the menu in the areas impacted. It also said it “will continue to work with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are committed to providing timely updates as we restore our full menu.”
While the outbreak seems to be contained to one section of the United States, it does present a new challenge for McDonalds. Sales were already under pressure as consumers continue to respond to stubbornly high food inflation. One analyst pointed out it took Chipotle a year and a half to recover from an e.Coli outbreak in 2015, while sales at Jack in the Box slid for a year when it dealt with an outbreak back in 1993.
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