Multiple Deaths Amid Ongoing Food Outbreaks! McDonald’s E. Coli, Deli Meat Listeria, and More

Here are some of the riskiest-to-consume foods that have been recalled due to dangerous—and sometimes even fatal—outbreaks.

Avoid These Risky-to-Eat Foods

McDonald’s Quarter Pounders

An E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders has sickened at least 49 people from 10 states and killed one adult. Authorities are blaming onions as the source of the outbreak—but onions, lettuce, and other plant foods don’t naturally harbor E. coli bacteria, which can cause fever, severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, and other painful symptoms in humans.

E. coli lives in the intestinal tracts and feces of animals, including cows, chickens, and others who are raised and killed in vast numbers for their flesh. When cow or chicken manure is used to fertilize crops or leaks into waterways, fruits and vegetables can become contaminated. (Cross-contamination can also occur when produce is placed on the same surface as meat or when someone doesn’t practice proper hygiene.) In other words, meat consumption is still the root cause of the problem.

Chicken

As of October 16, 2024, a nationwide recall expanded to nearly 12 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat products sold at Trader Joe’s, Target, Kroger, Costco, Walmart, and other retailers due to possible listeria contamination. Some of the recalled products include prepackaged salads containing meat, chicken wraps and bowls, and frozen meals.

Meat producer BrucePac was found to be the source of the bacteria. Listeria infections can cause fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and, in some severe cases, even death.

Foster Farms recalled its chicken in 2014 after a salmonella outbreak sickened more than 600 people in 29 states.

Chicken flesh can also be infected with bird flu. In 2023 alone, at least 58 million birds confined on farms were systematically killed—often by horrific methods, such as slowly suffocating them—to limit its spread. Worldwide, more than half the people with confirmed infections of the H5N1 strain of bird flu have died, and the World Health Organization has called the risk of the virus spreading to humans “an enormous concern.”

Additionally, in 2024 dozens of tigers in zoos in south Vietnam died after a bird flu outbreak. They were likely infected with the virus after being fed contaminated chicken flesh.

Deli Meat

An estimated 90% of listeria infections in the U.S. result from consuming deli meat.

The largest U.S. listeria outbreak in a decade, linked to a Boar’s Head plant in Virginia, has reportedly killed at least 10 of the 59 people hospitalized across 19 states. The outbreak led to a nationwide recall of deli meats and the indefinite closure of the facility.

Eggs

Eggs are a common source of salmonella—even if they come from farms labeled as “organic” or “free range.”

As of October 2024, a nationwide recall of eggs due to salmonella contamination had been escalated to Class 1—the most serious classification of recalls—meaning that they could cause serious health consequences or even death. An ongoing investigation into the salmonella outbreak linked to eggs supplied by Milo’s Poultry Farms—a company that claims to sell “cage-free” eggs—has found a total of 65 infections as of September 2024, and 24 people have reportedly been hospitalized so far.

Smoked Salmon (Lox)

Widespread and sometimes deadly listeria outbreaks have been linked to consuming cold-smoked salmon. Between August 2022 and November 2023, an outbreak tied to a Norwegian fish distributor resulted in more than 700 reports of listeria contamination.

Nearly half of all fish consumed worldwide each year are raised on land- or ocean-based aquafarms, which confine them to cramped, filthy enclosures, where disease can easily spread.

Shrimp, Crabs, Clams, and Oysters

Shellfish such as shrimp, crabs, clams, and oysters are among the most commonly consumed sea life linked to hepatitis A, which can cause liver failure and even death.

Additionally, in August 2024 oysters from two facilities in Cape Cod were linked to four cases of campylobacter illness, which results from a type of bacteria that causes diarrhea, among other symptoms. 

In 2017, a woman was infected with Vibrio vulnificus—a “flesh-eating” bacterium—that left her hospitalized and covered with lesions after she ate a raw crab dish.

Soft, Mold-Ripened Cheeses

In 2022, listeria cases spread across six states, causing the recall of 24 brands of brie and camembert cheeses. Of the six people who were infected, five were hospitalized.

Another multistate outbreak of listeria was linked to queso fresco and cotija cheese manufactured by Rizo Lopez Foods and reportedly caused 23 hospitalizations and two deaths.

Is Animal Agriculture Making Consumers Sick?

An apple a day won’t keep the doctor away if you consume flesh, eggs, and dairy. In fact, animal-based products account for an estimated one-third of foodborne illnesses globally.

An extremely high percentage of all the flesh from the chickens, turkeys, cows, fish, and pigs slaughtered every year in the U.S. is contaminated with E. coli, campylobacter, listeria, or other dangerous bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts, flesh, and feces of animals. These illnesses can cause symptoms ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to organ failure and death. Farms—which often cram animals into filthy sheds, sometimes amid their own feces—are hotbeds of disease and bacteria. Animal agriculture even plays a role in foodborne outbreaks that are traced to produce, as these pathogens commonly originate from animal waste.

Animal agriculture increases the risk of disease and illness for everyone—even those who stick to veggies. The best thing we can do for ourselves, animals, the planet, and our fellow humans is to go vegan.

Other Foods That Put Your Health at Risk

In addition to shellfish, other fish are also risky to consume:

And avoiding certain types of cheese isn’t enough, because all dairy is bad for you:

Please, Go Vegan for Animals and Your Own Health

Don’t just avoid these animal-based products—keep all flesh, eggs, and dairy off the table. Make the switch today: