Every now and then, a product that we can normally use every day without incident suddenly becomes more hazardous than expected.
But while you’re not likely to find an industry that’s immune to producing defective goods, such issues are particularly troubling when it comes to food products. Because whether it’s due to a manufacturing error or an unexpected contaminant , something that makes food unsafe to eat is a cause of immediate concern to unsuspecting customers everywhere.
So when the problem is widespread enough and its source can be identified, it’s not unusual for food companies to conduct a recall of specific batches of their products to ensure as few people are affected as possible.
But as we’re about to see, it’s a little harder to do that when nobody involved seems clear on what the problem actually is. And that’s proving a major pain for fans of Lucky Charms right now.
By April 14, the website iwaspoisoned.com received over 3,000 reports from people throughout the United States who claimed to get sick after eating Lucky Charms.
Although the majority of these reports came from California, a representative from the website stated on its official Twitter account that there is now at least one report for every state in the Union.
It’s unclear how the cereal is supposedly affecting people, but each of these reports mention similar gastrointestinal symptoms.
According to People , reports mentioned complaints of nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, and vomiting.
And alongside the 3,000+ reports mentioned above, the Lucky Charms Twitter account is also receiving messages from customers stating that either they or their children have fallen similarly ill within hours of eating the cereal.
As one of them put it , “For now, you need to change the name of LUCKY CHARMS to UNLUCKY CHARMS. This was my favorite cereal until in the past 3 months.”
As a result of these rumblings, the Food and Drug Administration announced on April 18 that they are now investigating the brand.
However, neither the FDA nor General Mills have issued a recall at the time of this writing. And at least as far as the company is concerned, that’s because their own investigations have left them as stumped as when these reports started coming in.
As we can see in this tweet responding to customer complaints, General Mills has yet to find any evidence that links Lucky Charms or its ingredients to this outbreak among their customers.
As such, they are now asking affected customers to message them directly in the hopes of narrowing down what exactly could be causing their gastrointestinal issues.
In the representative’s words, “Food safety is our top priority. We take your concerns very seriously.”
h/t: People
