FDA officials find dozens of violations at McDonald's suppliers related to deadly outbreak E. coli This resulted in more than one hundred infections and a full recall of onions used in the burger chain's products, including Quarter Pounder burgers.
The violations, detailed in an inspection report released by CBS News following a Freedom of Information Act request, were discovered during an inspection of a Colorado food production facility operated by Taylor Farms.
Their violation amounted to the FDA issuing a so-called Form 483 to McDonald's suppliers, which contained a list of citations for conditions they feared could be “harmful to health.”
The factory's mission is to supply “shredded onions” to McDonald's restaurants in various states. Taylor Farms also makes many other products, including safe, ready-to-eat salads sold in grocery stores.
For restaurants, Taylor Farms positions its products as “no-prep kitchen solutions” and “ready-to-eat meals,” allowing food service companies to skip the usual preparation steps required to handle regular produce, which require washing and cutting before eating. .
Spokespeople for McDonald's and Taylor Farms did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Taylor Farms ultimately recalled thousands of boxes of ready-to-eat onions that were distributed to food service agencies in six states following the outbreak.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 104 cases of E. coli infection have been linked to the outbreak, including 34 hospitalizations and one death.
“Should be marked as 'failed'”
FDA inspectors said they found “numerous pieces of equipment with significant biofilm and large amounts of food debris” around the Taylor Farms facility in Colorado Springs, even though workers had allegedly completed required cleaning procedures.
The FDA said Taylor Farms' quality control officials had approved the facility's cleaning as satisfactory, although agency inspectors said they still saw “several food contact surfaces that were visually unclean and should have been marked 'unsatisfactory.'” “
FDA inspectors were concerned that the buildup of food debris on the company's equipment was so severe that it could lead to cross-contamination. A company that had been buying bell peppers from Taylor Farms complained that onions were mixed into their ready-to-eat products.
Food and Drug Administration inspectors said workers also cut corners on their own required sanitation procedures.
McDonald's supplier workers only “sometimes” use hand sanitizer while wearing gloves when handling food that is supposed to be ready-to-eat food, or “RTE” as it's known in the industry.
“Production employees handling RTE products and food contact surfaces were not observed using any hand sinks in the facility,” FDA inspectors wrote.
“Equipment is always wet”
FDA inspectors also found that Taylor Farms frequently skipped the drying step after dipping tools in a disinfecting chemical solution, which inspectors feared could result in the solution being “directly applied” to ready-to-eat products.
“Due to the humid processing environment and cold temperatures, the equipment was constantly wet,” agency inspectors wrote.
The FDA said instructions from cleaning solution manufacturers urge users to air-dry utensils after disinfection.
FDA officials are also concerned about how staff formulate the cleaning chemical mixtures they use.
Some solutions tested beyond the maximum allowed concentration of chemicals, and the company isn't sure how it arrived at the formula for another cleaning mixture that FDA inspectors questioned.
“Management was unable to provide a manufacturer's label and/or manufacturer/chemical representative stating that the mixture of these chemicals listed above was designed for this use,” inspectors said.
