CHICAGO — McDonald’s Corp. intends to invest $100 million to assist franchisees that were impacted by the recent E. coli outbreak.
The company expects to spend $65 million to support franchisees who lost business during October.
Recent information by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that slivered onions on the Quarter Pounder were likely the source of illness.
“Taylor Farms, the supplier of slivered onions to the affected McDonald’s locations also recalled onions,” CDC said. “Foodservice businesses were contacted directly by Taylor Farms. These onions are past their shelf life and are not available for sale.”
The most recent update by the agency said that 104 people were sick after the E.coli outbreak in 14 states. Numbers from the FDA and CDC show that 24 people have been hospitalized with one reported death.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture confirmed late in October that McDonald’s beef was negative for E.coli.
As of Nov. 13, the FDA completed onsite inspections at a Taylor Farms processing center in Colorado and an onion grower of interest in Washington state.