How McDonald’s can learn from Chipotle, Wendy’s handling of food-related illnesses at restaurants

McDonald’s is the latest major fast-food company to experience an E. coli outbreak linked to a menu item.

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers have been linked to a deadly E. coli outbreak spanning 10 states. 

The CDC launched an investigation after 49 people reported becoming sick after eating Quarter Pounders. There have been 10 hospitalizations and one death linked to the outbreak.

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Shortly after the CDC’s announcement, McDonald’s said initial findings from the investigation indicated that a “subset of illnesses may be linked to slivered onions used in the Quarter Pounder.”

JPMorgan analysts led by John Ivankoe said in a note that while McDonald’s is now “trading on emotion/worry,” it believes the outbreak will “result in no long term damage to the brand.” 

The analysts anticipate that the “company’s leading supply chain will make quick fixes to this problem” and don’t “expect this to engulf the U.S.”

Deutsche Bank analyst Lauren Silberman noted in a recent report that the company has already identified the source of the issue and taken “immediate action,” highlighting its “sophisticated supply-chain infrastructure” and suggested it “should help mitigate additional risk of spread.” 

Both Chipotle and Wendy’s have faced similar issues, though Silberman stated that “assuming the outbreak is an isolated and identified supply-chain issue, the incident appears to more closely resemble that of [Wendy’s]” isolated E. coli outbreak in 2022, linked to its supply chain, rather than Chipotle’s 2015 outbreak, “where issues were more systemic.”

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Chipotle 

The JPMorgan analysts said part of Chipotle’s issue in 2015 was that there was a “lack of modern methods of traceability in the supply chain,” which “caused greater concern and disruption within that system.” 

“Literally every ingredient in the store was considered a suspect,” the analysts wrote.

After the incident, then-Chipotle CEO Steve Ells said the company had enhanced its food safety plan, which he said “designs layers of redundancy and enhanced safety measures to reduce the food safety risk to a level as near to zero as is possible.” 

Part of this plan included high-resolution DNA-based testing of many ingredients before they are shipped to restaurants. 

The company said this measure far exceeded the requirements of state and federal regulatory agencies, as well as industry standards. It also made changes to food prep and food handling practices, including washing and cutting of some produce items and shredding cheese in central kitchens, blanching of some produce items in its restaurants, and new protocols for marinating chicken and steak.

The company also said it had enhanced internal training to ensure employees thoroughly understand the company’s high standards for food safety and food handling. It also ensured that its paid sick leave helped to ensure that ill employees have no incentive to work while sick.

Wendy’s 

The CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service investigated the multistate outbreak of E. coli infections but said they were unable to confirm the food source. 

However, “many sick people reported eating burgers and sandwiches with romaine lettuce at Wendy’s restaurants” before falling ill, the CDC said. 

Still, Wendy’s removed the romaine lettuce used in burgers and sandwiches at restaurants in states where sick people ate, the CDC said.

Shortly after Wendy’s replenished the petite romaine lettuce for the restaurants in the region affected by the precautionary withdrawal, the CDC said it had closed the investigation.