Fast-Food Chains In US Pull Onions From Menu After McDonald's E Coli Outbreak (image @McDonalds)

The US fast-food chains, including Burger King, KFC, and Taco Bell, have pulled fresh onions from some restaurants. The move came after an E coli outbreak linked to the food chains’ Quarter Pounder hamburgers sickened dozens of people and killed one person.

McDonald’s named a California-based supplier as the source of onions linked to the food poisonings. After this, Burger King’s parent company, Restaurant Brands International, and Yum Brands, which operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, made the announcement to pull the onions.

Also Read | McDonald’s Burger Linked To E Coli Outbreak In US; 1 Killed, Dozens Sick

Colorado-based fast-food chain Illegal Pete’s also announced to temporarily pull several items that included onions.

McDonald’s pulled its Quarter Pounder from about one in five outlets in the US after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this week linked the item to cases of food poisoning in 10 states, said a media report.

Over 49 people have fallen sick, mostly in Colorado and Nebraska, said health authorities.

The E coli O157:H7 was identified as the cause of the illness. The bacteria cause more than 2,000 hospitalisations and 61 deaths in the US each year, according to the CDC.

Symptoms of the poisoning can occur within one or two days of eating contaminated food. The symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, and signs of dehydration.

E coli is dangerous for young children, the elderly, and pregnant women—the ones with compromised immune systems.

Also Read | North Korea Dumps Trash Balloon On South Korea’s Presidential Compound

According to the CDC, the outbreak began in September and spans over 10 western states.

The strain involved, E coli 0157:H7, can cause serious illness and was the source of the 1993 outbreak, which killed four children after they ate undercooked hamburgers at Jack in the Box restaurants.