McDonald's had repeated health issues in the 1980s?

Chipotle is back in the news again for yet another health scare. But what if this had happened to McDonald's instead?

What does the landscape of fast food look like in America if McDonald's had multiple widely publicized health issues 2-3 years apart in the mid-1980s? Would it only be a blip on their radar or would it it push another chain to the top? And does a McD's that is possibly perceived as unsafe have any impact on the overall perception of fast food in America and it's expansion overseas?
 
A lot depends on how the corporation publicly respond to this.

If they deny, or simply assert that they're the safest, they turn people off.

If they say, we are going to stay ahead of the curve [subtle difference], we will improve safety in this and related regards, that's a lot more appealing and proactive.
 
And I know you're talking about infectious disease health and immediate food safety,

but the best I understand, medical science still does not know if good cardiovascular health is mainly about low-fat or low-carb, and that I find amazing! :)
 

nbcman

Donor
Unless it was more significant than what happened to Jack in the Box in 1993, probably nothing. McDonalds had similar issues with E. coli in 1982 in Michigan and Oregon IOTL and it didn't slow their growth.
 
The 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak affected about 600 people and caused 4 deaths. If McDonald's had such an outbreak in the 80s, say on a slightly larger scale, perhaps with 10 deaths and 1000 people getting sick, they probably would have reacted much the way Jack in the Box did. They would increase the cooking temperature of their products and take other steps to prevent contamination, and their PR campaign would focus on what they were doing to make their food safe. That would be a blip on their radar.

Now let's say E. coli infected lettuce makes another 500 people sick and causes 5 deaths, 2 years later. McD's would react in much the same way, but this time I don't think the ball would be in their court. A class action law suit might start up. Other chains might emphasize their safety or even attack McD's (the 80s was the decade of "Where's the beef?"). Still, McD's has the infrastructure and a big chunk of market share. I don't think a second outbreak would permanently remove them from the top of the list, simply because they had more restaurants on the ground. An aggressive PR campaign would win back many people and the chain would have to test all its products routinely and institute extremely strict food safety guidelines in order to ensure there was no third outbreak.

In OTL fast food gained serious competition from fast casual, and chains like McDonald's faced competition from chains like Five Guys, in about the late 1990s. In TTL we might see the rise of fast casual and premium burgers in the late 80s instead. FWIW, people may have been less safe because it is possible to order burgers cooked to less than 155°F "at your own risk" but people may have still seen the food as higher quality and safer.
 
. . . Other chains might emphasize their safety or even attack McD's (the 80s was the decade of "Where's the beef?"). . .
I like the emphasis on the '80s competition. :)

Still, I think it would be similar to airlines or automakers who rarely talk about safety, because they don't want to get people thinking and put doubt in their minds that the whole thing may be unsafe.
 


McDonald's introduced the McRib sometime in the '80s. It sold maybe okay but not great. They've brought it back at least once as some kind of nostalgia item.

And in general, McDonald's experiments with introducing a lot of upscale items (for example, chicken mcnuggets in the late '70s or early '80s) and at the same time, they keep a lower-priced 'value' menu.
 
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