RESTAURANT BUSINESS – An E. coli outbreak that sickened McDonald’s customers in 14 states has had a substantial impact on the company’s traffic, according to data from the research firm Placer.ai.
The outbreak wiped out some real momentum at the Chicago-based fast-food giant. A combination of a $5 Meal Deal and various marketing initiatives helped lead to traffic improvements throughout the summer. And then in October, a less-cautious consumer and a Chicken Big Mac improved customer counts even more.
Weekly traffic to the chain’s U.S. restaurants ranged from 2.6% to 3.1% in the first three weeks of October, according to Placer.ai, which collects foot traffic to retailers, restaurants and other businesses.
But traffic declined 6.7% the week of Oct. 21, when news of the outbreak first hit, and then 7.7% the week of Oct. 28. Traffic fell 4.3% and 7.3% in the subsequent two weeks, according to Placer.ai.
The data illustrate comments from McDonald’s executives late last month when they acknowledged that the outbreak reversed sales and traffic improvements.
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The data also reveals the challenge the company has in the coming weeks as it looks to regain customer count.
The outbreak has been blamed on slivered fresh onions from a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado Springs. The onions have all been removed from restaurants, including McDonald’s and other chains, and the outbreak is contained.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s contained in the public consciousness. Though McDonald’s has returned Quarter Pounders, with onions, to its menu nationwide, consumers may take a while to return to the company’s restaurants …
Why are there so many E. coli outbreaks?
By Sara Moniuszko, November 18, 2024
CBS NEWS – After the outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, Gounder said this is the result of a highly industrialized processed food supply.
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“(This) means that your food is getting processed at different places at different points in time, each of which creates an opportunity for the introduction of some contaminant, whether that’s E. coli or listeria or something else,” she said. “All of these recent food contamination events are a signal to us that we do need to be paying a bit more attention to testing in some of these facilities.”
Oller pointed to more potential factors: growing antimicrobial resistance, which makes bacteria hardier, and large-scale food production and distribution, which allows outbreaks to spread further.
“Because that’s the world we live in now, it spreads throughout a country, instead of it just being a localized (issue),” she said …