McDonald's E. coli outbreak puts stock on track for its worst day since the onset of COVID-19.

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The company’s stock plummeted by 8% in premarket trading, marking its steepest decline since March 12, 2020, the day the world entered Covid lockdown.

McDonald’s (MCD) is on track for its worst day since the pandemic began, following an E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounders in the western United States, resulting in one death and ten hospitalizations.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert, reporting at least 49 illnesses across ten states, predominantly in Colorado and Nebraska. Most affected individuals had consumed Quarter Pounders from McDonald’s.

This situation, along with investors’ rapid exit from the stock, echoes the years-long struggle Chipotle faced with E. coli and norovirus outbreaks starting in the summer of 2015. Over three years, Chipotle's stock plummeted by two-thirds as the company struggled to contain the repeated outbreaks.

While Chipotle faced minimal fines — just $25 million from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 — it had a hard time regaining the trust of its customers. The company eventually appointed a new CEO, Brian Niccol, who had recently taken the helm at Starbucks. Niccol helped revitalize Chipotle in 2018 by retraining its food handlers to ensure safety and implementing employee testing on food safety standards. Within a year of his appointment, the company's stock had fully recovered from its previous outbreak troubles.

Chipotle's outbreak represents the worst-case scenario for any restaurant chain, while McDonald’s current E. coli situation seems to be related to a supply issue. The FDA has identified slivered onions as the likely source of contamination, prompting McDonald’s to stop using these onions and quarter-pound beef patties in several states, according to the CDC.

Nonetheless, the investigation is ongoing, leaving investors anxious. In a statement, McDonald’s emphasized its commitment to preventing the outbreak from spreading: “Serving customers safely in every single restaurant, each and every day, is our top priority and something we’ll never compromise on.”

McDonald’s has weathered its share of food-related scandals in the past. In December 2003, the stock dipped after a supplier was found to have an incident of mad cow disease; however, the company later reported no significant customer avoidance due to that incident.

In 2004, the documentary “Super Size Me” by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock criticized McDonald’s for its unhealthy food offerings, prompting the chain to eliminate its supersize menu options later that year. Despite the controversy, the stock rose by about 25% during that time.

In 2011, it was revealed that McDonald’s used a type of beef informally known as “pink slime,” treated with ammonium hydroxide. Although the company announced in 2012 that it would stop using pink slime, rumors persisted for years, leading McDonald’s to issue a clarifying statement in 2021.

One of McDonald’s most infamous food-related scandals occurred in 1992 when a woman spilled hot coffee on herself, suffering third-degree burns. A jury ruled that the coffee was served at an unreasonably high temperature — 30 to 40 degrees hotter than coffee from other establishments, according to the American Museum of Tort Law. Although the plaintiff was initially awarded nearly $3 million, she later settled for approximately $480,000 after an appeal.

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