There have been a few foodborne illness outbreaks this month, and we wanted to share the key pieces of information from each.
1. Listeria outbreak linked with ready-to-eat precooked meat
Beginning mid-October, and with a few updates since, nearly 12 million pounds of ready-to-eat meals have been recalled nationwide at retailers including ALDI, Walmart, Kroger, and Trader Joe’s as well as food that had been distributed to schools. The source has since been traced back to precooked chicken used in the RTE meals. Many items in the recall include salads, rice bowls, and pasta bowls.
Read more:
https://www.today.com/health/recall/chicken-recall-list-listeria-brucepac-rcna175276
2. E. coli outbreak via McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers
A specific ingredient has not been identified as the source as of 10/23/24, but the FDA and USDA are working to determine what it could be; most likely culprits point to slivered onions used on the Quarter Pounders, or potentially the beef itself (though no other beef patties have been implicated). The only dish slivered onions are used on is the Quarter Pounder. 49 reported cases so far have from mainly the Midwest and Southwest United States.
Read more:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/23/health/mcdonalds-e-coli-quarter-pounder-investigation/index.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-e-coli-outbreak-quarter-pounder-onion-hamburger-states/
