Photo: Steve Parsons – PA Images (Getty)
Why anybody would eat a salad at McDonald’s is beyond me. Because if you get one, you’re not only going to be the laughing stock of all your buddies, if not for the obvious reasons, then for the potential that you’ll join close to 450 people who have already contracted a parasite for doing the exact same thing.
That’s right, folks. An outbreak of cycolospora-contaminated food has infected in at least 436 people in 15 states with 20 customers hospitalized after a laboratory linked the parasitic outbreak to salads sold at the infamous fast food franchise. Surprised? We didn’t think so.
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Cyclospora cayetanensis is a parasite that causes intestinal illness in humans who’ve consumed contaminated food or water. Symptoms can begin a week or more after consuming the parasite. They include diarrhea and frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If that wasn’t enough to turn your stomach, then maybe the likely potential for weight loss, cramps, nausea, gas, fatigue, vomiting, headaches and other flu-like symptoms will. In short, it would make for a really bad day at the office.
But here’s the kicker: Symptoms from the cyclospora parasite will often subside after their initial hard hit, like you might expect, only to come back with a raging vengeance weeks later, if not treated with antibiotics.
“Epidemiologic evidence indicates that salads purchased from McDonald’s restaurants are one likely source of these infections. The investigation is ongoing, and FDA is working to determine the sources of the ingredients that were in common to the salads served at McDonald’s,” the CDC said in an outbreak update posted on its website Thursday.
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We think the lesson here is that if you’re going to eat crap, by all means, eat crap. Don’t pretend you’re being healthy. Get yourself a Quarter-Pounder covered in half-melted processed cheese slathered with some of their alleged Thousand Island secret sauce.
McDonald’s announced they have removed the salad mix in question and are now receiving new greens from a different supplier. It’s a shame they didn’t do that before 400-plus people blew the porcelain off their toilets.
They are definitely not lovin’ it.
