McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak Sends Chain’s Stock Plunging

Things aren’t going so well for McDonald’s amid the fast food chain’s E. coli outbreak. Reuters reports the company is up against a financial downturn as a result, with McDonald’s stock closed down 5.1% at $298.57, and shares hitting an intraday low of $290.88. 

The Centers For Disease Control found an E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder hamburger. As a result, the item has been pulled from locations across several states. Thus far, there have been 49 cases, 10 hospitalizations, and one death reported since the investigation. Locations currently not serving the Quarter Pounder are Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, and in parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

“We fully expect to see more cases,” CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said, per Reuter. “McDonald’s has moved rather quickly to take action to, hopefully, prevent as many cases as possible.”

U.S. food safety attorney Bill Marler, who represented a victim in a Jack in the Box outbreak, said McDonald’s will face “a lot” of liability for the contamination. “We’re still in the early stages of how McDonald’s is going to handle this,” he said. “But getting the supplier of the onions out – if they’re confident that’s the source of it – is going to be really important.”

Per the investigation findings so far, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the onions used in Quarter Pounders were the likely source of the illness, though one of its state partners is testing samples of the beef for E. coli.

According to Mayo Clinic E. coli (Escherichia) is a bacteria normally living in the intestines of healthy people and animals. Most forms of E. coli are harmless. Serious strains can cause severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, and vomiting. Signs and symptoms of an infection usually begin three or four days after exposure. Potential sources of exposure include contaminated food, and person-to-person contact.