The health agency said the "fast-moving" outbreak is primarily affecting people in Nebraska and Colorado. It added that most people affected reported eating a Quarter Pounder hamburger.
In an internal
message published to the company's website on Tuesday, Cesar Piña, McDonald's North America chief supply chain officer, said the chain is taking "swift and decisive" action in response to the outbreak. The statement said the illnesses may be linked to slivered onions used in the Quarter Pounders, which are sourced by a single supplier that serves three distribution centers.
McDonald's is temporarily removing the burgers from restaurants in
Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, and parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, the statement said.