Popular Breakfast Cereal Triggers Salmonella Outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that people steer clear of a popular Kellogg’s cereal linked to a salmonella outbreak that now has infected 100 people in 33 states.

At least eight people have become ill in Pennsylvania, according to the CDC.

CDC officials said that Honey Smacks are causing the outbreak, cautioning via Twitter “Do not eat this cereal.”

The agency stated in a release that at least 27 more people from 19 states have become sickened since it found salmonella in samples of Honey Smacks, which Kellogg’s began voluntarily recalling last month.

The CDC advises the following:

• Do not eat any Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal, regardless of package size or best-by date. Check your home for it and throw it away, or return it to the place of purchase for a refund.
• Retailers should not sell or serve Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal.
• Even if some of the cereal has been eaten and no one got sick, throw the rest of it away or return it for a refund.
• If you store cereal that looks like Kellogg’s Honey Smacks in a container without the packaging and don’t remember the brand or type, throw it away. Then thoroughly wash the container with warm, soapy water before using it again, to remove harmful germs that could contaminate other food.

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized.

Photo: Getty Images.

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