Despite the initial revelation that the fast food chain McDonald’s was linked to an E.Coli
outbreak surfacing weeks ago, the story continues to make headlines.
The CDC confirmed that the number of cases is surging because it usually takes about
three to four weeks to show symptoms of E.Coli after initial infection.
E.Coli is a bacteria that can make people incredibly sick and even lead to pneumonia,
sepsis, UTI’s, and kidney failure.
One death has been confirmed while ninety people have been hospitalized due to the
particular strain of E.Coli spread by McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.
“Thankfully McDonald’s reacted quickly to the E. Coli outbreak, but regardless of the
outbreak, the food served at fast food restaurants is not good for us,” Health and Exercise Sciences Chairperson Mrs. Muir said.
“Fast food is often high in calories, fat, and sugar, but low in nutrients and fiber. Probably worst of all is the fact that high levels of sugar, salt, and fat in the junk food served at fast food restaurants makes them addictive.”
Contrary to popular belief, the McDonald’s beef patties are not the cause of this
outbreak. It is actually the slivered onions that are to blame for this deadly epidemic.
McDonald’s quickly took action by temporarily removing the Quarter Pounder from the
menu altogether at the start of the outbreak.
McDonald’s has now placed their Quarter Pounder back on their menu, minus the
slivered onions.
Health professionals and fast-food consumers both agree action needs to be taken to
prevent this from happening again.
The FDA strictly tests meat to ensure it is not contaminated before it reaches the public.
Yet there are few testing requirements placed on raw produce such as onions.
Doctors argue that if the FDA had stricter testing in place for raw produce this outbreak
never would have happened.
McDonald’s is not the first fast food restaurant to be linked with E.Coli outbreaks.
Chipotle and Jack in the Box famously recalled their menu due to major E.Coli
outbreaks in past years.
Although the FDA has much improvement to make on their food testing standards,
maybe the solution to avoiding illnesses caused by fast food is much simpler. Avoid fast
food restaurants.
“Understandably, processed foods are a convenient choice for many people, but what
we are not realizing is that we are sacrificing nutrition for convenience,” Mrs. Muir said. “The more we
consume highly processed foods on a regular basis, we increase our risk of health
complications such as cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, obesity, and type 2
diabetes.”
Regardless of how unhealthy processed food is, customers should still feel safe eating
at fast food restaurants.
The bottom line is no one should ever worry about the possibility of kidney failure simply
from indulging in a Quarter Pounder at their favorite burger chain.
