The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now looking at cases of illness in several consumers who have eaten Lucky Charms breakfast cereal. Its probe followed a record number of reports from customers who fell ill after eating the cereal manufactured by General Mills.
The FDA confirmed to several news outlets that it is "currently reviewing and investigating" reports of illnesses after eating the cereal. An agency spokesman added that "isolated incidents [and] complaints of a less serious nature … may be used during a future inspection of a company to help the FDA identify problem areas in a production plant."
Numbering more than 3,000, the reports of gastrointestinal issues came from all over the United States. Incidents occurring in California comprised the largest percentage of reports on the food safety website IWasPoisoned.com. The health issues reported include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and stomach pain.
One person posted experiencing "stomach pain and diarrhea after one bowl of Lucky Charms" purchased at a CVS branch in New York City. The person tried it two more times to find out if the cereal was indeed the culprit – and they experienced the same symptoms as before.
Another report came from a mother whose daughter fell ill after eating the cereal. "My daughter had a bowl of Lucky Charms around 10 a.m. and started throwing up around 3 p.m.," she said. The mother continued that her daughter became "very sick" and unable "to keep sips of water down." Her daughter also experienced vomiting, stomach pain and chills – aside from having a body temperature of 102.7 degrees Fahrenheit (39.3 degrees Celsius).
"I asked her about everything she had eaten and drank in the past 24 hours and couldn't figure it out, until I saw the news report about Lucky Charms."
General Mills also looking into food poisoning reports
In response to a request for comment from the Epoch Times, a General Mills spokesperson said the food poisoning reports will be looked into.
"We take the consumer concerns reported via a third-party website very seriously. Through our continuing internal investigations, we have not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to the consumption of Lucky Charms," said the spokesperson. They also encouraged consumers to "share any concerns directly with General Mills to ensure they can be appropriately addressed."
The official Twitter account for the breakfast cereal echoed General Mills' sentiment. "Food safety is our top priority. We take your concerns very seriously. Through our continuing internal investigations, we have not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to the consumption of Lucky Charms. Please send us a [direct message] so that we can gather additional details," it said in a tweet. (Related: Tweeting about food poisoning shown to help combat the problem.)
Despite the reports of food poisoning, neither FDA nor General Mills have issued a recall of Lucky Charms breakfast cereal from supermarket shelves.
Back in February 2022, Abbott Laboratories issued a recall for three of its baby formula products made from its manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan. The recall stemmed from an FDA investigation regarding infants who suffered Cronobacter sakazakii infection after consuming baby formula made at the Michigan facility.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), C. sakazakii can live in very dry places and has been found in different kinds of dry foods – including infant formula. Infections caused by this pathogen can cause the death of infants and serious illness in older and immunocompromised individuals.
"The first symptom of [C. sakazakii] infection in infants is usually a fever accompanied by poor feeding, excessive crying or very low energy. Some infants may also have seizures. [The pathogen] can cause a dangerous blood infection (sepsis) or make the linings surrounding the brain and spinal cords swell (meningitis). Infections in infants usually occur in the first days or weeks or life. Infants two months of age and younger are most likely to develop meningitis if they are infected," the CDC said.
Head over to CleanFoodWatch.com for more stories about food products you should avoid.
Watch Martin Brodel below talking about the FDA's probe into the food poisoning incidents caused by Lucky Charms breakfast cereal.
This video is from the Martin Brodel channel on Brighteon.com.
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