Quarter Pounder burgers to be reintroduced in restaurants affected by E. coli outbreak.

• The Quarter Pounder burger is being reintroduced in restaurants affected by an E. coli outbreak linked to the menu item.
• The likely source of the outbreak has been identified as the slivered onions in the burgers, rather than the fresh beef patties, by health authorities.
• McDonald's USA President Joe Erlinger expressed regret to customers who are experiencing "illness, fear, or uncertainty" in a video on the company's website.

This week, approximately 900 restaurants will resume serving Quarter Pounder burgers, following the removal of the menu item linked to the deadly E. coli outbreak.

Roughly one-fifth of McDonald's U.S. restaurants will temporarily stop serving Quarter Pounder burgers with slivered onions due to an ongoing investigation into the source of the outbreak. The change will affect restaurants in Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.

McDonald's North American operations chief supply chain officer, Cesar Pina, stated in a letter to the company's U.S. system that the issue seems to be limited to a specific ingredient and location, and they are highly confident that any contaminated products related to the outbreak have been removed from their supply chain and are no longer in any McDonald's restaurants.

According to Pina, the Colorado Department of Agriculture did not detect E. coli in beef patties taken from restaurants in the area. As a result, the agency has no plans to conduct additional tests on the company's beef.

The likely cause of the outbreak is slivered onions used in Quarter Pounders, according to health authorities. The Food and Drug Administration is still investigating if onions produced by Taylor Farms are responsible. McDonald's has stopped using Taylor Farms as a supplier for the ingredient indefinitely.

McDonald's is requesting its beef suppliers to produce fresh beef patties for Quarter Pounders, according to a letter sent by Pina to the company's U.S. system. The menu item is expected to return to all restaurants in the coming week, although it will be introduced on a rolling basis, based on delivery and resupply operations.

The E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's has resulted in 75 cases across 13 states, with 22 hospitalizations and two cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome. Additionally, an older adult in Colorado passed away due to the outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Over a two-week period, McDonald's typically sells about one million Quarter Pounders in the affected region, according to company spokespeople.

McDonald's USA President Joe Erlinger expressed regret to customers who are experiencing "illness, fear, or uncertainty" in a video on the company's website.

He stated, "I am sorry on behalf of the McDonald's system."

McDonald's is predicted to reveal its third-quarter earnings prior to the market opening on Tuesday. Since the CDC linked the E. coli outbreak to its restaurants, McDonald's shares have dropped by 7%.