Onions removed from Illegal Pete’s menu due to “abundance of caution” amid McDonald’s outbreak
Denver Ite
The local burrito chain Illegal Pete’s is temporarily removing onions from its menu amid a recall and concerns about an E. coli outbreak at fast-food giant McDonald’s.
The company received notice from its supplier on Wednesday of an onion recall due to “potential E.coli contamination,” according to Illegal Pete’s officials. The Denver-based chain also posted signs telling customers about the change.
There is no sign that anyone has been sickened, and company officials believe that their onion supplier issued the recall as a precaution. It may be one of many restaurants to be affected by recalls after an outbreak at McDonald’s stores was linked to dozens of illnesses and one death in Colorado.
Illegal Pete’s uses onions from the same source, Taylor Farms, that has been linked to the McDonald’s outbreak, as do many other restaurants. However, Illegal Pete’s was not necessarily directly exposed to the outbreak, according to president and founder Pete Turner.
“It’s important to note that we don’t use a diced/sliced white onion product that has been identified as the source at McDonald’s,” he wrote in an email to Denverite. The company instead buys peeled white onions from Taylor Farms through the distributor US Farms.
“Taylor Farms has issued a blanket recall on their white onion product from a certain lots, as seen in the attached letter. We believe Taylor Farms is doing this through an abundance of caution and we agree with the decision,” Turner wrote.
After hearing about the recall, Illegal Pete’s management contacted each of its stores and told managers to follow the recall process, disposing of the onions and any food prepped with the onions.
State health officials said they are unaware of any reports of illness linked to Illegal Pete’s. Local health officials didn’t immediately respond to comment. US Farms and Taylor Farms didn’t immediately respond to contact.