On October 25, 2024, major US fast-food chains made the decision to temporarily remove fresh onions from their menus after the vegetable was identified as the likely source of an E coli outbreak at McDonald's. This incident has shown the spotlight on a persistent issue for restaurants - keeping produce free from contamination. The US Department of Agriculture indicated that onions are likely responsible for an outbreak affecting the Midwest and some Western states, resulting in 49 illnesses and one death. In response, McDonald's pulled the Quarter Pounder from one-fifth of its 14,000 U.S. locations. Historically, meat patties were the primary concern for foodborne illness lawyers until US federal health regulators intensified efforts to combat meat contamination following a significant E. coli outbreak linked to Jack in the Box burgers, which hospitalised over 170 individuals and resulted in four fatalities, the Reuters reported. This crackdown led to a marked decrease in meat-related outbreaks, according to experts. "Produce is a much harder problem," Mike Taylor, a lawyer with extensive experience in food safety initiatives at the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Department of Agriculture told Reuters. He currently serves on the board of the nonprofit STOP Foodborne Illness. The key distinction between meat and produce lies in their preparation. Experts say meat is cooked, while fresh produce is typically consumed raw. Proper cooking acts as a "silver bullet" against contamination, Donald Schaffner, a food science and safety expert at Rutgers University told Reuters. While large-scale industrial produce undergoes washing, sanitisation, and testing comparable to meat, these tests often fail to detect low levels of contamination. Crops are commonly grown outdoors, where feces from wildlife or nearby livestock can contaminate irrigation water or floodwater. E coli is a common pathogen found in the intestines of animals, particularly in cattle, but also in geese, boars, deer, and others, according to Mansour Samadpour, a food safety specialist, the Reuters reported. Contamination can arise from untreated manure, contaminated irrigation water, or improper handling and slicing of the onions. Samadpour, who leads IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group and was hired by Chipotle to revamp its food safety protocols after multiple contamination incidents, noted that US Department of Agriculture officials have pushed for stricter meat testing. "We went from one or two meat recalls a month to one recall every year or three," he said. Although rigorous testing is applied to produce, fast-food chains and other buyers often require it, the tests do not catch every contaminant. "The cleaner the product, the harder it is to detect," said Samadpour. Both McDonald's and Taylor Farms, the supplier of yellow onions to McDonald's in the affected regions, are considered leaders in safe practices. McDonald's suppliers regularly test their produce, including during the time frame specified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the outbreak. However, none identified this specific E. coli strain, company representatives told Reuters. The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 mandates the Food and Drug Administration to establish standards for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables. The FDA implemented regulations for farm produce that previously lacked sufficient oversight, says Schaffner. “Very often the pattern is we have a public health problem or a food safety problem, and eventually Congress will react and we'll have regulations," he said. Taylor, the former FDA official told Reuters that while meat contamination issues have largely been addressed through government regulation, enhancing the safety of produce should be the responsibility of buyers like McDonald's and other fast-food chains. He believes that these chains and grocery stores, as major produce purchasers, can collectively "modernise and harmonise" the standards they expect from suppliers, given the fragmented and diverse nature of the produce marketplace. "The only thing that could for sure destroy the microbes is radiation - but no one wants it," Samadpour said.
