Months later, Honey Smacks still a salmonella risk
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to urge stores to not sell Honey Smacks Cereal and customers to not eat the cereal due to a potential salmonella contamination.
The Kellogg company announced a recall of Honey Smacks effective June 14, and the CDC said customers should still not be eating the cereal. Around 130 people in 36 states have reported becoming ill after eating the cereal, according to the CDC. Of those cases, five have been reported in New Jersey.
The highest number of cases is New York with 15, while Pennsylvania and California each have 11 cases as of August 31. The number of New Jersey cases only increased by one since July 12. Since that July 12 report, 30 more people in 19 states have reported being ill.
"If you see Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal for sale, do not buy it," the CDC said in a recall statement. "The FDA has become aware that recalled Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal is still being offered for sale."
The CDC warning said that even if customers have eaten cereal in their home and have not gotten sick they should still throw the rest away or return it for a refund. Illnesses were first reported on March 3 and continued through August 7. The people reporting becoming ill have ranged from 1 year to 95 years old.
The recalled products include 23-oz. boxes of Honey smacks with a UPC code of 3800014810 with a best if used by date between June 14, 2018 and June 14, 2019.
People infected with salmonella usually develop symptoms within 72 hours. Those symptoms can include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.
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