The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 03:02 PM
FDA Recalls Kellogg's Honey Smacks Cereal Due To Salmonella Concerns
The recall is in effect for the 15.3 ox. and 23 oz. pakcages of Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal because those products could be contaminated with salmonella, the company said on Thursday. The package codes are 38000 39103 for the 15.3 oz and 38000 14180 for the 23 oz.
According to the FDA, "preliminary evidence links the product to more than 60 illnesses from Salmonella Mbandaka spanning across more than 30 states."
Kellogg's is asking customers to throw away the products and contact the company for a full refund. Customers can get more information at 1-800-962-1413 or by visiting https://www.kelloggs.com/en_US/contact-us.html.
The FDA released this statement:
We’re committed to helping make sure Americans can have confidence that the food they buy is safe, and to alerting consumers quickly when we learn about risks and unsafe products. Today we’re issuing a warning to consumers that Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal may be contaminated with Salmonella. This is based on preliminary evidence linking it to an outbreak of illnesses across the country. The FDA has already initiated an inspection of the facility that we believe is linked to the Salmonella contamination. And we’ve worked with the company to immediately initiate a recall of this product," it said.
"We’ll continue to work with Kellogg’s to identify not only the source of the contamination, but the actions needed to prevent this kind of outbreak from happening again,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. “Earlier this year, I committed the FDA to improve on our recall processes because I believe that consumers should have actionable and timely information to protect themselves from recalled products. Recalls are a cornerstone of our consumer protection mission. Today’s action is part of the commitment we made earlier this year to act quickly in response to identified risks and to notify consumers early in the course of our investigations," it continued.
According to the CDC, use or consumption of products contaminated with Salmonella may result in serious illness. It can also produce serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals infected with Salmonella can experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most persons recover without treatment. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses.
