The president of McDonald’s USA said Wednesday that the company can "restore confidence" as it seeks to minimize the damage from an E. coli outbreak linked to the chain’s Quarter Pounders in multiple states.
“We are very confident that you can go to McDonald’s and enjoy our classics. We took swift action yesterday to remove the Quarter Pounder from our menu. This was swift and decisive action by us,” Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald's USA, said on NBC's “TODAY” show.
He said the company is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but declined to say whether it believed other businesses in affected areas were still using contaminated foodstuffs.
Asked whether the outbreak would hurt the company and damage its reputation long-term, Erlinger said: "You know, our founder famously said, 'If you take care of our customers, the business will take care of itself.'
"And so on a day like today, given the news we’ve had over the last 24 hours, that’s really our focus. We’re confident that, that we’ll see our way through this and we’ll restore confidence for the American consumer to come to McDonald's," he continued.
At least 49 people in 10 states have gotten sick, and one older adult in Colorado has died, according to the CDC. Ten people have been hospitalized, including a child who developed a kidney disease called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
It’s still not known which ingredient is making people sick, though both slivered onions and quarter-pound beef patties — both used in the recipe — are being looked at. Quarter Pounders have been pulled from restaurants in affected states.
At a McDonald's in Denver, customer Mike Railey, 51, was having second thoughts about eating his bacon, egg and cheese biscuit for breakfast Wednesday morning.
“I’ll probably stay away from McDonald’s now,” said Railey, who hadn’t heard about the outbreak. “I probably would have tossed it, because it’s not worth the risk.”
The drive-thru lines at the McDonald's remained busy through the day as diners walked in and out. Customer Aaron Chapa, 22, said he eats at the restaurant a few times a week and consumed a Quarter Pounder over the weekend but never got sick.
“I knew it was only the Quarter Pounder that was affected,” said Chapa, who was satisfying his hunger Wednesday with a cheeseburger. “I’m probably fine.”
Another customer, Yash Reddy, 24, didn’t let the outbreak keep him from patronizing the chain, saying he would be careful with his menu choices.
“I’m just going to customize my order,” he said before he walked in.
McDonald’s said Tuesday its initial findings from an investigation indicate that “a subset of illnesses may be linked to slivered onions used in the Quarter Pounder and sourced by a single supplier that serves three distribution centers.”
The CDC opened an investigation on Oct. 15 after the first case occurred on Sept. 27, and Colorado health officials alerted the CDC to an uptick in E. coli cases on Oct. 10.
Asked whether the numbers sickened is expected to rise, Erlinger said that given the onset dates, “if there has been a contaminated product within our supply chain, it’s very likely worked itself through that supply chain already.”
He said the company will “take in more data” from the CDC as the investigation unfolds and “let the science continue to lead our actions.”
Officials say it’s possible more illnesses may be reported, as it takes three to four weeks to determine whether a sick person is part of an outbreak. Symptoms of E. coli infection include fever over 102 degrees, severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting.
Most of the cases have been reported in Colorado, with 26, while Nebraska reported nine. Other cases were reported in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
McDonald's has largely weathered the pandemic-era surge in ingredient prices and labor costs that has affected the entire restaurant industry.
However, a growing subset of customers were increasingly turned off by what they perceived as the loss of McDonald's traditional value proposition.
To counter those perceptions, McDonald's announced this summer that it had begun offering $5 Meal Deals alongside another set of deals available through its mobile app. In September, it announced it was extending the $5 Meal Deal offering at least through the end of the year.
That seemed to do the trick: After it hit a nearly two-year low in July, McDonald's share price has surged nearly 25% since August.
But Tuesday's outbreak announcement is already cutting into those gains. In premarket trading Wednesday, McDonald's shares were down about 7%. In a note to clients after the outbreak announcement, an analyst at Guggenheim Partners financial group said it had downgraded its rating of the McDonald's shares as it awaits "more clarity on the trajectory of the food safety issues.”
