DENVER (KDVR) — Illegal Pete’s, a Colorado-based restaurant with 11 locations across the state, has temporarily pulled several menu items with onions after a recall was issued “out of an abundance of caution” due to a recent E. coli outbreak in McDonald’s restaurants.
There have been no reports of illnesses in any of Illegal Pete’s locations, according to the restaurant.
The recall was issued by Taylor Farms for all onions due to potential contamination. The restaurant chain said it buys onions from Taylor Farms through a supplier called US Foods.
“We take this very seriously and are following their recall instructions to the letter,” Illegal Pete’s said in a statement.
The restaurant said it does not use the same type of onion that has been tied to the multi-state outbreak at McDonald’s stores, and that Taylor Farms had issued a “blanket recall” on its yellow onion product from certain lots.
McDonald’s said it believes the source of the outbreak to be the slivered onions, which came from one supplier and then sent out to three distribution centers.
Taylor Farms has not been identified by health officials or McDonald’s as the source of the fast food giant’s outbreak. The CDC has also not definitively linked onions as the source of the outbreak and is also investigating the beef patties used in the Quarter Pounders.
Illegal Pete’s said in its message to employees that the restaurant chain does not use “diced/sliced white onion product,” which the business said was identified as the source of the McDonald’s outbreak. The restaurant instead buys “peeled white onions” which are subject to the blanket recall.
However, the statement sent Wednesday to all Illegal Pete’s locations referenced yellow onion products.
“Today at approximately 12:40 p.m., we received notice from US Foods that the yellow onion product we purchase is affected by a national onion recall,” the internal statement read. “Taylor Farms initiated the recall due to potential contamination making this product. Every Illegal Pete’s restaurant was contacted as quickly as possible and leadership was notified of the seriousness of this recall.”
Illegal Pete’s said all affected onions and any prepped foods were destroyed in compliance with the recall.
“While cooking product appropriately to at least 160 degrees will ensure food safety of those items, teams should dispose of any products that are knowingly prepared using the onions laid out in the recall process regardless of it is a hot or cold prep,” the statement continued. “If you do not know if your onion was affected, all cold prep items should be disposed of.”
The eatery will be delivering “safe” onions to stores as quickly as possible, to prevent any changes in service.
The symptoms of E. coli include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. Symptoms usually start 3 to 4 days after swallowing the bacteria. Most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
