McDonald's E.coli outbreak: Kidney failure reported, fast-food chain sued, earnings mixed

McDonald's was sued on Tuesday by consumers in a proposed class action stemming from the E.coli outbreak linked to onions in the fast-food chain's Quarter Pounders, as per a Reuters report.

In a complaint filed in Chicago federal court, Amanda McCray and William Michael Kraft said they experienced many symptoms associated with E.coli infection after buying Quarter Pounders this month. They said they would not have bought their burgers had McDonald's disclosed the risk of contamination.

The lawsuit seeks damages for all people in the United States who bought Quarter Pounders contaminated with E.coli.


Meanwhile, a 15-year-old high school freshman is hospitalized with severe complications of food poisoning after eating McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers three times in the weeks before a deadly E. coli outbreak was detected. Kamberlyn Bowler, of Grand Junction, Colorado, had to be flown 250 miles to a hospital near Denver in mid-October, where she received dialysis for 10 days in an urgent effort to save her kidneys, AP reported.

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She is one at least 75 people sickened and 22 hospitalized in the outbreak tentatively traced to contaminated onions. In Mesa County, where Kamberlyn lives, 11 people have fallen ill and one person died. Federal health officials have said that slivered onions used on the burgers are a likely source of the outbreak, as per a report on AP.

McDonald's reported a dip in profits Tuesday as the protracted Middle East conflict weighed on results and the chain's CEO apologized for a food safety scare. The fast-food giant, which has contended in the last week with an E. Coli outbreak in the western United States, saw a modest uptick in comparable sales in its home market, but lower sales in other regions, AFP reported.

The chain reported a third-quarter profit of $2.3 billion, down three percent from the year-ago period on revenues of $6.9 billion, up three percent.

Global comparable sales decreased 1.5 percent.

In the United States, higher order sizes offset a drag from a drop in guest counts. The chain also cited higher delivery sales.

But results were dented by "the continued impact of the war in the Middle East" and negative comparable sales in China, McDonald's said. Those negatives more than offset gains in Latin America.

McDonald's also said it encountered weakness in France and Britain.

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The chain's US operations has been in crisis mode following an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers, mainly in the western United States.

Restaurants in a dozen US states had temporarily pulled the burgers from their menus amid an outbreak that saw dozens of customers sent to the hospital and one person die.

Chief Executive Christopher Kempczinski reiterated that the company had removed from its supply chain the source of slivered onions believed to be the root cause of the problem, he told analysts on a conference call.

FAQs

Q1. What has happened to McDonald's?
A1. McDonald's was sued on Tuesday by consumers in a proposed class action stemming from the E.coli outbreak linked to onions in the fast-food chain's Quarter Pounders.

Q2. What is E. coli outbreak with McDonald's?
A2. McDonald's US operations has been in crisis mode following an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers, mainly in the western United States.