The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday the completion of their investigations into the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak and confirmed that it is over. 

The CDC and the FDA launched their investigation and product recall Oct. 22 following reports of several McDonald’s customers falling ill after consuming the Quarter Pounder, containing slivered onions. The outbreak was eventually linked to a Taylor Farms distribution facility in Colorado Springs. 

McDonald’s says onions linked to E. coli breakout traced back to Colorado Springs facility

According to McDonald’s, the specific strain of E. coli impacting those who became sick was not found at Taylor Farms, but McDonald’s confirmed sourcing from the California-based provider has been suspended indefinitely. 

The outbreak impacted 14 states and roughly 900 restaurants , causing at least 104 to fall sick, 34 to be hospitalized and one death. Four individuals developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure.

The CDC reported illnesses started on dates ranging from Sept. 12 to Oct. 21. No illnesses have been reported since the Oct. 22 recall. 

The death reported was a man from Mesa County, formerly a Marine and firefighter. 

Officials say they believe the accurate number of illnesses due to the outbreak was likely much higher than the number reported. This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli bacteria. 

A similar E. coli outbreak traced to McDonald’s beef impacted some Midwestern states, but company spokespeople say there is no connection — despite it being the same strain. Public health officials also confirmed the two outbreaks are not connected. 

McDonald’s has invested $100 million to accelerate recovery and support the most heavily impacted restaurants. A total of $65 million was invested into the business, targeting those in states that were most affected. The remainder of the funds is directed toward marketing and continued efforts to drive customers back to McDonald’s.

“To our franchisees and restaurant teams: thank you for your focus and commitment to living our values as we made sure to take every step to respond to this issue,” the company stated on its website Tuesday. “The process to reach this point has at times felt long, challenging and uncertain. But it is critical that public officials examine every possible angle.”

Timeline

Oct. 22: An investigation into the outbreak was launched and McDonald’s removed Quarter Pounders and slivered onions from the menu. It is unclear when the contaminated product entered stores. 

Oct. 27: McDonald’s identified an alternate slivered onion supplier for the 900 restaurants that were receiving onions from that original supplier, resuming normal operations and sales of quarter pounders. In addition, the Colorado Department of Agriculture completed testing on all samples of beef, which were all found to be negative for E coli.

Nov. 13: The CDC maintained the risk to public health has remained very low for three weeks. 

Nov. 14: The FDA confirmed there was no food safety concern at McDonald’s restaurants related to the outbreak.

Dec. 3: All investigations closed and the outbreak is confirmed to be over. 

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.