Burger King, KFC, & More Ditch Fresh Onions Following McDonald’s E. Coli Outbreak Fallout

Burger King and KFC have both pulled fresh onions off of their menus, becoming the latest restaurants to feel the effects of the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak.

PEOPLE has confirmed that the fast-food giants are just a few of the many restaurants that have removed the popular topping from their menus temporarily, following Taylor Farms’ voluntary recall of its yellow onion packs that are peeled, chopped, and whole “due to potential E. Coli contamination.” Additionally, Taylor Farms advised consumers to “avoid using impacted” items “as soon as possible.”

A representative for Burger King confirmed to the outlet that it concluded that “there is no crossover with McDonald’s for the vast majority of our onion facilities” after having “reviewed” its “restaurant supply.” However, in an abundance of caution, the fast-food giant encouraged all its locations to get rid of the onions it had in its restaurants, despite claiming that it “only uses whole, fresh onions” in its restaurants and that only a small minority of its locations “do receive onions distributed from the Taylor Farms Colorado facility.”

“Despite no contact from health authorities and no indications of illness, we proactively asked our 5% of restaurants who received whole onions distributed by this facility to dispose of them immediately two days ago and we are in the process of restocking them from other facilities,” a spokesperson for the restaurant confirmed to the outlet.

Meanwhile, Yum! Brands — the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut — has also confirmed that it has removed fresh onions from its locations “out of an abundance of caution.”

“We will continue following supplier and regulatory guidance to ensure the ongoing safety and quality of our food,” a representative for the conglomerate told Today.

Burger King Fears E. Coli Contamination

Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut are just the latest restaurants to pull fresh onions out of their restaurants. Earlier this week, amid a recall and concerns about an E. coli outbreak at fast-food giant McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Colorado restaurant chain Illegal Pete’s are temporarily removing onions from their menus.

Higher-ups at Illegal Pete’s claim that the company received notification from its supplier on Wednesday regarding an onion recall due to “possible E. coli contamination.” The Denver-based burrito company also posted signs to alert customers about the change.

McDonald’s Quarter Pounders has been linked to a multi-state E. Coli outbreak that has killed one person and affected 49 others.

An official inquiry into the outbreak was announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

“Most sick people are reporting eating Quarter Pounder hamburgers from McDonald’s and investigators are working quickly to confirm which food ingredient is contaminated,” read the announcement from the CDC, in part. “McDonald’s has pulled ingredients for these burgers, and they won’t be available for sale in some states.”