CDC: Don't eat Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal, salmonella outbreak expands into 19 more states

[TexasTowelie]

Source: Dayton Daily News

ATLANTA — Update 11:55 p.m. EDT July 12: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new warning: Don’t eat Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal.

A salmonella outbreak has spread into 19 states and the CDC has traced it back to the cereal, which the agency said could be contaminated with the bacteria.

Kellogg issued a Honey Smacks recall last month and, since then, another 27 people have shown signs of illness, the CDC said.

In total, at least 100 people in 33 states have now been infected with salmonella, and 30 have been hospitalized.

Read more: https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/national/kellogg-honey-smacks-cereal-under-recall-over-salmonella-contamination-fears/nVknOxdyaO8zJsidqJ4zQL/

---

Forum Hosts: Please note that this is a new warning being issued.

[C Moon]

1. But Pence says it's okay.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. K&R! Wow! 33 states!

This news needs to take precedence over the latest Trump scandal/abomination/mortifying activity! These were favorites of mine when I was a kid - back when they were called Sugar Smacks.

[Kablooie]

3. How could that get contaminated?

It's just puffed wheat with a sugar coating.
Maybe somebody dumped something into the sugar slurry?

[colorado_ufo]

4. Honey can contain contaminants.

[truthisfreedom]

5. That's scary. It's basically sugar... I always thought sugar

Was essentially trouble-free.

[SemiHalfling]

7. Though it is sugary, honey contains more compounds than simple sucrose. That said...

If honey is properly handled and sealed during storage it should not go bad. Vectors in modern food production are all over the place really, some are natural some are man made, many aren’t accounted for until after an outbreak. Some honey is adulterated with corn syrup for example. The CDC report did not identify exactly which component of the cereal is the cause, they’re still investigating as far as I know.

[marble falls]

22. It goes bad when when people dip fingers into it.

[SemiHalfling]

29. Yep, that's a big one. nt

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Do they actually use honey now?

When I was a kid, they were called Sugar Smacks.

[Angleae]

8. Ingredients (from shopwell.com)

Sugar, Wheat, Corn Syrup, Honey, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Caramel Color, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacinamide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D. To Maintain Quality, BHT has Been Added to the Packaging.

Kellogs.com says much the same except trade Soybean Oil for Palm Oil and trade Corn Syrup for Dextrose

[Rhiannon12866]

9. That's what I figured, they probably just changed the name

When I was a kid, I liked the Sugar Smacks - and my brother liked Sugar Pops. They're called Corn Pops now - but I'll bet they haven't changed them, either...

[BumRushDaShow]

10. They all took the word "sugar" out to appeal to children 'cause I know I remember these

[Rhiannon12866]

11. Oh, yes! We had them all!

Frosted Flakes was another favorite. Though I have to give my mother credit, before school we usually had oatmeal (or MaypO ) and/or fruit. But that's what kids were encouraged to eat, the cartoon characters were aimed at kids. And all they did was change the names.

[Submariner]

14. My Mother would not let us have Frosted Flakes because they were coated

with so much sugar (Yum), so we had to eat Kellogg's corn flakes. However, Mom had a huge sugar bowl on the breakfast table to scoop mounds of sugar onto the corn flakes. Mom didn't mind that....except later when it came to the dentist bills.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. There were periods where we were relegated to these -

...but the "generic" store brands sold in long bags (like popcorn).

Added your own sugar too!

[jmowreader]

28. I liked those a lot when I was a kid

It's rough to find Puffed Wheat anymore. Puffed Rice is no problem; Rice Krispies are the same thing, and they're easy to find.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Remember this?

Tasted like a sugary bowl of iron!

[marble falls]

23. MMMMMM ...... sugar slurry ..................

[NickB79]

27. Salmonella can be tracked in from outdoors

I work in the microbiology lab for a major dairy food manufacturer, and test our facility for listeria and salmonella weekly. We have foot foamers, a no street shoes policy, and boot covering requirements for contractors coming in, but still find positive swabs on floors a couple times a year (never in the products, though). When this happens, that area is shut down, extensively cleaned, and kept offline until repeated swabs come back clean. It costs time and money, but management takes it VERY seriously.

A dry foods factory making cereals should be less likely to get contamination and growth, but it can still happen if protocols aren't followed every time. Recalls are no laughing matter.

[robbob]

12. I wouldn't eat that shit if you paid me!

Salmonella or not...

[colorado_ufo]

17. Amen.

What the hell have people been feeding their children for years? Just look at those crap ingredients!

When poor Mom has to get four or five kids ready for school as well as herself out the door for a full day's work at an outside job (and feed the dog, clean up the cat puke, etc.), it surely is easier to pour breakfast out a box than cook it on the stove. I understand, and the kids survive, but what long term damage might be done? This stuff - the colors, artificial flavors, BHT, refined flour, tons of sugar, etc. - are not natural in the diet of a human being.

Personally, I could never stand the taste of this stuff!

[woundedkarma]

19. I love honeysmacks

Had to buy a box last year cause I missed them so

Oh they absolutely wreck my digestive system for a couple days...

Apparently, they'd do much worse if I'd have bought a box more recently.. .Yikes!

[Vinca]

13. I don't consider it food in the first place so no chance I'd eat it.

[BlueIdaho]

18. I have a bigger question...

In the Pacific Northwest (at least) we are seeing a growing number of announcements about tainted food that will make you sick. How much of this is due to the Trump Administration’s gutting of both inspection and regulation agencies? I think we are just seeing the start of a self imposed food disaster...

[flibbitygiblets]

21. That is a good question, although there were plenty under Obama as well

(think the Chipotle restaurant debacle, and several other fresh vegetable recalls as well). I'd be curious to see if the rate has actually increased under Rump though. "With a name like Rump, how could you NOT get sick?"

[BlueIdaho]

26. Well said!

[FSogol]

24. The USA has been cutting back food inspections since Reagan. n/t

[BlueIdaho]

25. No Surprise There...

Though I think most of those cutbacks can be traced to republican presidents and congresses. I could be wrong... Maybe it’s just a summer thing, but it sure seems like we up here are seeing a significant uptick in food safety alerts.

[flibbitygiblets]

20. If the CDC were going to be really helpful, they'd warn against pretty much everything in that aisle

Who's not infesting their body with foodborne "disease" by eating sugar-frosted cereal anyway? Diabetes, obesity for starters...

[GulfCoast66]

30. Fake Food