The E. coli outbreak associated with McDonald’s has grown. The CDC said Friday that 75 people have been sickened across 13 states. That’s up from the 49 count earlier, and health officials warned that the number is expected to grow even more.
The strain of E. coli O157:H7, suspected in the McDonald’s foodborne illness cases last week, has beset the foodservice industry for decades. E. coli O157:H7 was the strain that in 1992-93 led to an outbreak that sickened 732 people across four U.S. states and was linked to 73 Jack in the Box restaurants in California, Idaho, Nevada, and Washington.
Texas Roadhouse continues to defy broader industry and casual-dining segment trends, reporting a same-store sales increase of 8.5% at company-owned restaurants during the third quarter. Traffic also continued to rise and was up over 5%.
Riding high on that growth, Texas Roadhouse said Thursday that it plans to buy 13 restaurants from a franchisee early next year. The units are in Indiana, Ohio and California, and are expected to add about half a percent to the chain’s average weekly sales volumes.
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