Last month, Kellogg’s voluntarily recalled some of its Honey Smacks products after the cereal was linked with a salmonella outbreak that sickened 73 people and put more than 24 of them in the hospital.
Announced on June 14, the recall initially targeted 15.3 oz. and 23 oz. packages of the honey-coated cereal with a “best if used by” date between June 14, 2018 and June 14, 2019, the Inquisitr reported at the time.
However, as a precautionary measure, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised the public not to eat any of the cereal and to throw out any Honey Smacks boxes they might still have at home, regardless of the box size or the date it was purchased on.
A month after the initial health warning, the salmonella infection count has swelled to 100 people from 33 states and to 30 hospitalizations, reports the Huffington Post.
“Twenty-seven more ill people from 19 states were added to this outbreak since the last update on June 14, 2018,” the CDC announced on July 12, noting that there have been no reported deaths associated with the salmonella outbreak.
The public health institute has reinstated the warning that people should avoid eating the “sweetened puffed wheat cereal,” as the product is described by Kellog’s.
“Do not eat this cereal,” the CDC tweeted earlier today.
At the same time, the FDA has issued its own update of the situation, urging the public to stop buying Honey Smacks cereal after administration officials learned that the product is still being sold in stores, despite the total recall that Kellogg’s placed in effect in June.
“The FDA has become aware that recalled Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal are still being offered for sale,” stated the administration’s website in a July 12 update.
“Retailers cannot legally offer the cereal for sale and consumers should not purchase Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal,” stressed the FDA.
Cereal lovers are being cautioned to steer clear of Kellogg’s product “regardless of package size or best-by date” and to dispose of any Honey Smacks cereal they might have bought “even if some of the cereal has been eaten and no one got sick.”
Since Honey Smacks products with earlier dates could also have been contaminated with salmonella, the CDC advised consumers to get rid of any unpacked cereals that look like Kellogg’s product even if they “don’t remember the brand or type.”