By Nathalie Voit
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is launching an investigation into Lucky Charms following thousands of complaints from consumers claiming they had developed food poisoning after eating the cereal.
The news comes after more than 3,000 people who claimed they had fallen ill after consuming the cereal submitted reports to iwaspoisoned.com, a food safety website that allows individuals to self-report suspected foodborne illnesses.
On April 18, the FDA said it received over 100 submissions about Lucky Charms this year through its own food safety monitoring system.
The agency said that it “takes seriously any reports of possible adulteration of a food that may also cause illnesses or injury,” according to the Associated Press.
General Mills, the Minneapolis-based manufacturer of Lucky Charms and other popular breakfast cereals, said it had launched its own investigation after hearing about the complaints but had not turned up any evidence linking reports of consumer illness to its product.
The company is encouraging consumers to share concerns directly so they can be appropriately addressed.
“Food safety is our top priority. We take your concerns very seriously,” General Mills said in its Twitter account on Monday. “Through our continuing internal investigations, we have not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to the consumption of Lucky Charms. Please send us a DM so that we can gather additional details.”
Nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting are among the symptoms hundreds have reported on iwaspoisoned.com.
“I bought Lucky Charms on 4/12/22. I had a bowl of the cereal on Thursday morning. I became ill that night, which continued to the next day with nausea, diarrhea, and chills,” wrote one not-so-lucky customer from Texas.
