Food experts say that General Mills should consider a voluntary recall of Lucky Charms breakfast cereal. As of May 5, iwaspoisoned.com, which tracks foodborne illnesses, recorded 7,500 complaints, more than half of the 3,500 complaints received as of April 20.
Food experts think that the issue may be due to a change in food ingredients when the pandemic lockdown limited some food supplies, NY Post reports.
Pandemic-related supply chain issue
Lee-Ann Jaykus, a professor of food, bioprocessing, and nutrition sciences at North Carolina State University, who has been studying the case, thinks that the outbreak may be due to a pandemic-related supply chain issue.
Jaykus added that a possible culprit is an alternative additive such as the food dye used to make charm-shaped marshmallows in the cereal, which would explain the green-colored poop that people have commonly complained about.
She deemed that General Mills may have changed its ingredient as many food companies experienced not getting enough ingredients and having to source them from a new provider since the pandemic lockdown. A chemical ingredient in the cereal may have caused the illness because so many people become ill quickly, just a couple of hours in some cases. World Nation News reports that salmonella can take six hours to several days for the symptoms to occur.
An expert on foodborne illnesses and a lawyer, Bill Marler agreed with Jaykus.
Chemical or allergen may be the culprit
Marler told the Post that if the cereal is making around 7,000 people ill, the probable cause may be chemical or allergen, not bacteria or virus, considering the length of reported illnesses.
The Food and Drug Administration has not provided an update on its investigation and declined to comment. The agency tested boxes from consumers who reported illnesses and investigated the manufacturing facilities. There are no known pathogens identified to date.
Marler said she could not think of one incident or outbreak where there were hundreds or thousands of people sickened and could not figure out the cause.
As there is a lack of information, food experts recommend that General Mills initiate a recall.
Marler advises General Mills to "recall the product and reset its trust with the consuming public until more is known."
Jaykus said it would be prudent for General Mills to pull the product off the market from a public health perspective. She added that the enormous financial implications of taking off a year's worth of cereal from the market are likely why the company has not issued the recall yet.
Jaykus has likely pressured General Mills to issue a recall.
Toby Amidor, an award-winning nutrition expert, said that because there has been no data to link the illness with the cereal, no recall notice would be issued.
Until then, Amidor urges customers to avoid the cereal. He recommends holding off purchasing Lucky Charms cereal. If customers experience gastrointestinal symptoms upon eating the cereal, seek medical help and keep the box of samples to help determine the issue, as per Eat This, Not That!
