OHIO — Fresh, slivered onions are likely the cause of the E. coli outbreak at various McDonald's restaurants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What You Need To Know

  • According to the Food and Drug Administration, slivered onions served at certain McDonald's restuarants made people sick

  • Taylor Farms voluntarilly recalled the yellow onions in question in October

  • 104 people across 14 states were infected with E. coli

“If you think back to 30, 40 years ago, food safety outbreaks related to E. coli were typically a result of some contamination related to ground beef, but the response to that from industry, from the regulatory commission, from food service, we figured out how to keep meat products safe," said agriculture expert Andy Vance.

Vance said, today, we experience relatively few cases of food illness related to meat products. Instead, fresh produce is now being impacted by bacteria like E. coli.

He said there are many places contamination can come from, and farmers are doing their best to make sure their produce is clean and safe.

“My experience with farmers is that they're always thinking about how can we do this better,” Vance said.

Ohio is not one of the state's where cases of E. coli related to McDonald's were reported.

According to the FDA, "it is unlikely that recalled yellow onions were sold to grocery stores or directly to consumers."

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