TAYLOR FARMS SAYS THEY HAVEN’T FOUND ANY TRACES OF E.COLI IN THEIR ONIONS.. BUT THEY ARE TAKING SOME PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES. ## AN E.COLI OUTBREAK CONNECTED TO THE MCDONALDS QUARTER POUNDER HAS LEFT ONE PERSON DEAD AND DOZENS SICK ACROSS 10 STATES. THE SPECIFIC ONIONS USED ON THOSE QUARTER POUNDERS BEING HONED IN AS A POSSIBLE SOURCE OF THE OUTBREAK. ON THURSDAY, MCDONALD’S AND THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION CONFIRMED TAYLOR FARMS AS THE SUPPLIER OF THOSE ONIONS SERVED. THE OUTBREAK HAS LEAD TO MCDONALD’S REMOVING ITS QUARTER POUNDER BEEF PATTIES AND SLIVERED ONIONS IN 12 STATES…. CALIFORNIA IS NOT ONE OF THEM. IN A STATEMENT, THE F-D-A SAYS THEY’RE WORKING WITH FEDERAL AND STATE PARTNERS TO DETERMINE IF ONIONS ARE THE REASON FOR THE OUTBREAK….THEY’RE COLLECTING ONION SAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS… TAYLOR FARMS ALSO RELEASING A STATEMENT THURSDAY SAYING THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN TRACES OF E.COLI ASSOCIATED WITH ONIONS IN THE PAST, SAYING QUOTE “WE CONTINUE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH FDA AND CDC DURING THIS ONGOING INVESTIGATION. OUR PRIORITY IS THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND CONSUMERS AND THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF OUR PRODUCTS.” TAYLOR FARMS WENT ON TO SAY THAT THEY HAVE REMOVED YELLOW ONIONS FROM THE MARKET PRODUCED OUT OF THEIR COLORADO FACILITY THEY HAVE RECALLED FOUR RAW ONION PRODUCTS OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL E.COLI CONTAMINATION. HEALTH EXPERTS EXPECT THE NUMBER OF CASES TO GROW.. THE F-D-A TELLS ME THEY’LL HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE NUMBER OF CASES IN THE MORNING. YOU CAN FIND THE FULL STATEMENTS FROM TAYLOR FARMS AND THE F-D-A AS WE
McDonald’s says onions from Taylor Farms linked to E. coli outbreak
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that they are investigating Taylor Farms as the possible source of the E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers. McDonald’s officials said that Taylor Farms, of Salinas, California, sent onions to one distribution facility, which led the fast-food chain to remove Quarter Pounder hamburgers from restaurants in several states. McDonald’s didn’t say which facility it was.Taylor Farms issued a recall notice to its customers for four raw onion products out of an abundance of caution. The reason given for the recall was “due to a potential E. coli contamination,” U.S. Foods said in a notice. The notice also asked customers to stop using and destroy the affected products. The products recalled were the following: Taylor Farms 30-pound bags of jumbo peeled yellow onions in a pillow pack. Batch codes being: TFC278, TFC281, TFC282, TFC283, TFC284, TFC285, TFC288, TFC289, TFC290 andTFC292 Cross Valley Farms 4/5 pound bags of diced 3/8 yellow onions. Batch codes: TFC277, TFC278, TFC281, TFC282, TFC283, TFC284, TFC285, TFC288, TFC289, TFC291 and TFC292Taylor Farms 5-pound bags of diced yellow onions. Batch Codes: : TFC278, TFC281, TFC283, TFC285, TFC288, TFC290 and TFC292Taylor Farms 6/5 pounds bags of whole peeled yellow onions. Batch codes: TFC278, TFC281, TFC282, TFC283, TFC284, TFC285, TFC288, TFC289, TFC290,TFC291 and TFC292 A Taylor Farms spokesperson said in a statement it has found no traces of E. coli in tests of raw or finished onions. “We have never seen E. coliO157:H7 associated with onions in the past,” the statement said.The full statement from a Taylor Farms spokesperson said:”We take pride in providing safe, healthy fresh foods to people every day. It saddens us to see the illnesses and affected individuals and families from the current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the individuals and their families impacted. Our priority remains the health and safety of our consumers. We have preemptively recalled yellow onions from our Taylor Farms Colorado facility that were sent to select foodservice customers. “We continue to work with CDC and FDA who are investigatingthe source of the outbreak. Beef and onions are being investigated as potential sources, but no specific ingredient has been confirmed as the source of the outbreak. “All Taylor Farms products in the market today are safe to consume.”The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have honed in on slivered onions served on hamburgers as the likely source of contamination.An FDA spokesperson confirmed Thursday the agency was investigating Taylor Farms, adding, “We’re looking at all possible sources.”As of Wednesday, 49 people have been sickened in 10 states and at least one person was killed. Twelve states so far have removed the Quarter Pounder including Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and WyomingA McDonald’s spokesperson said Wednesday that the raw onions were sourced from a single supplier and processed at a single facility. They are sliced and packaged at the facility as raw vegetables in individual bags and then distributed to restaurants.There have been no cases of people being sick in California. Colorado has by far the most cases of people falling ill, with around 10 to 26 attributed to the state. The one death was from an elderly man in Colorado. In the meantime, other national restaurant chains temporarily stopped using fresh onions.“As we continue to monitor the recently reported E. coli outbreak, and out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed fresh onions from select Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants,” Yum Brands said in a statement.Taylor Farms is headquartered in Salinas but has many factories across the country, including one in Colorado Springs. The FDA also sent KSBW 8 the following statement about their ongoing investigation.”The FDA is using all available tools to confirm if onions are the source of this outbreak. This includes working with federal and state partners and the companies involved to collect and evaluate records and distribution information as part of our traceback investigation. FDA and state partners are also collecting onion samples for analysis.”While the investigation is ongoing, Taylor Farms, the supplier of slivered onions for the affected McDonald’s locations, has initiated a voluntary recall. The FDA can confirm that yellow onions were sold to additional food service customers. Customers who received recalled onions have been directly notified of the recall.”The FDA is working closely with the implicated firms and will continue to provide updates as they become available, including any additional recalls or notifications that might be needed for recipients of recalled onions.”More information will be provided as it becomes available.”ee more coverage of top Central Coast stories here | Download our app | Download Very LocalThis article was written with the help of CNBC and the Associated Press.
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that they are investigating Taylor Farms as the possible source of the E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers.
McDonald’s officials said that Taylor Farms, of Salinas, California, sent onions to one distribution facility, which led the fast-food chain to remove Quarter Pounder hamburgers from restaurants in several states. McDonald’s didn’t say which facility it was.
Taylor Farms issued a recall notice to its customers for four raw onion products out of an abundance of caution. The reason given for the recall was “due to a potential E. coli contamination,” U.S. Foods said in a notice.
The notice also asked customers to stop using and destroy the affected products.
The products recalled were the following:
- Taylor Farms 30-pound bags of jumbo peeled yellow onions in a pillow pack. Batch codes being: TFC278, TFC281, TFC282, TFC283, TFC284, TFC285, TFC288, TFC289, TFC290 andTFC292
- Cross Valley Farms 4/5 pound bags of diced 3/8 yellow onions. Batch codes: TFC277, TFC278, TFC281, TFC282, TFC283, TFC284, TFC285, TFC288, TFC289, TFC291 and TFC292
- Taylor Farms 5-pound bags of diced yellow onions. Batch Codes: : TFC278, TFC281, TFC283, TFC285, TFC288, TFC290 and TFC292
- Taylor Farms 6/5 pounds bags of whole peeled yellow onions. Batch codes: TFC278, TFC281, TFC282, TFC283, TFC284, TFC285, TFC288, TFC289, TFC290,TFC291 and TFC292
A Taylor Farms spokesperson said in a statement it has found no traces of E. coli in tests of raw or finished onions. “We have never seen E. coliO157:H7 associated with onions in the past,” the statement said.
The full statement from a Taylor Farms spokesperson said:
“We take pride in providing safe, healthy fresh foods to people every day. It saddens us to see the illnesses and affected individuals and families from the current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the individuals and their families impacted. Our priority remains the health and safety of our consumers. We have preemptively recalled yellow onions from our Taylor Farms Colorado facility that were sent to select foodservice customers.
“We continue to work with CDC and FDA who are investigatingthe source of the outbreak. Beef and onions are being investigated as potential sources, but no specific ingredient has been confirmed as the source of the outbreak.
“All Taylor Farms products in the market today are safe to consume.”
The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have honed in on slivered onions served on hamburgers as the likely source of contamination.
An FDA spokesperson confirmed Thursday the agency was investigating Taylor Farms, adding, “We’re looking at all possible sources.”
As of Wednesday, 49 people have been sickened in 10 states and at least one person was killed. Twelve states so far have removed the Quarter Pounder including Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming
A McDonald’s spokesperson said Wednesday that the raw onions were sourced from a single supplier and processed at a single facility. They are sliced and packaged at the facility as raw vegetables in individual bags and then distributed to restaurants.
There have been no cases of people being sick in California. Colorado has by far the most cases of people falling ill, with around 10 to 26 attributed to the state. The one death was from an elderly man in Colorado.
In the meantime, other national restaurant chains temporarily stopped using fresh onions.
“As we continue to monitor the recently reported E. coli outbreak, and out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed fresh onions from select Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants,” Yum Brands said in a statement.
Taylor Farms is headquartered in Salinas but has many factories across the country, including one in Colorado Springs.
The FDA also sent KSBW 8 the following statement about their ongoing investigation.
“The FDA is using all available tools to confirm if onions are the source of this outbreak. This includes working with federal and state partners and the companies involved to collect and evaluate records and distribution information as part of our traceback investigation. FDA and state partners are also collecting onion samples for analysis.
“While the investigation is ongoing, Taylor Farms, the supplier of slivered onions for the affected McDonald’s locations, has initiated a voluntary recall. The FDA can confirm that yellow onions were sold to additional food service customers. Customers who received recalled onions have been directly notified of the recall.
“The FDA is working closely with the implicated firms and will continue to provide updates as they become available, including any additional recalls or notifications that might be needed for recipients of recalled onions.
“More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
ee more coverage of top Central Coast stories here | Download our app | Download Very Local
This article was written with the help of CNBC and the Associated Press.
