If you were waking up this morning prepared to grab a heaping bowl of Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, you might want to reconsider. A new bulletin from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pointing the finger at the popular cereal (which is delicious, by the way) for spreading salmonella. The recall seems to be fairly wide-ranging, covering “best if used by dates” that span a full year.
Thus far, a total of 73 confirmed cases of salmonella originating with Honey Smacks cereal have been reported, and they span from coast to coast in the United States. People in 31 states have been affected, with 24 hospitalizations and thankfully zero deaths.
Health experts traced the source of the contamination to Honey Smacks cereal that has a “best if used by” date between June 14, 2018 and June 14, 2019. If you have a box of Honey Smacks in your pantry with a date (located on the top of the box) that falls within that range it is advised that you throw it away. Additionally, the CDC notes that if you stored the cereal in any kind of reusable container, you should also be sure to thoroughly clean that container before using it with any other foods.
The CDC says that despite the bulletin and current recall on the product, the case count is likely to rise in the short term due to the period of time it takes for those infected with salmonella to begin showing symptoms.
As for the recall, both the 15.3 oz and 23 oz cartons of Honey Smacks with “best if used by” dates between June 14, 2018 and June 14, 2019 are affected. The company is asking that anyone who had purchased those products get in touch to receive a full refund for the price of the product. The company’s contact page is available here.
Salmonella can be pretty nasty, causing diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramping. In some rare cases the infection can spread from the digestive tract to the bloodstream, which has the potential to cause more serious symptoms and even death if not treated promptly with antibiotics. Needless to say, if you’ve eaten what you suspect is contaminated cereal, contact your doctor to be on the safe side.
