CDC continues to recommend people not eat and retailers not sell any Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal. It might be contaminated with Salmonella and could make people sick.
Highlights
CDC recommends people do not eat any Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal because it has been linked to a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections.
Important advice for consumers and retailers:
- Do not eat any Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal, regardless of package size or best-by date. Check your home for it and throw it away, or return it to the place of purchase for a refund. The Kellogg Company recalled the cereal on June 14, 2018.
- Retailers should not sell or serve Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal.
- Even if some of the cereal has been eaten and no one got sick, throw the rest of it away or return it for a refund.
- If you store cereal that looks like Kellogg's Honey Smacks in a container without the packaging and don't remember the brand or type, throw it away.
- Thoroughly wash the container with warm, soapy water before using it again, to remove harmful germs that could contaminate other food.
Investigation details:
- CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka infections.
- 100 people infected with the outbreak strain have been reported from 33 states.
- 30 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
- Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence(https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/outbreaks/investigating-outbreaks/index.html) indicates that Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal is the likely source of this multistate outbreak.
- This investigation is ongoing and CDC will provide updates when more information is available.
July 12, 2018
Case Count Update
Since the last update on June 14, 2018, 27 ill people have been added to this investigation.
As of July 12, 2018, 100 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Mbandaka have been reported from 33 states. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Case Count Map page(https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/mbandaka-06-18/map.html).
Illnesses started on dates from March 3, 2018, to July 2, 2018(https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/mbandaka-06-18/epi.html). Ill people range in age from less than one year to 95, with a median age of 57. Of ill people, 68% are female. Out of 77 people with information available, 30 (39%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Illnesses that occurred after June 19, 2018, might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when their illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 4 weeks. Please see the Timeline for Reporting Cases of Salmonella Infection(https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/reporting-timeline.html) for more details.
Investigation Update
State and local health officials continue to interview ill people and ask questions about the foods they ate and other exposures(https://www.cdc.gov/features/solvingoutbreaks/index.html) in the week before they became ill. Fifty-five (85%) of 65 people interviewed reported eating cold cereal. In interviews, 43 people specifically reported eating Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal. Ill people in this outbreak reported this cereal more often than any other cereals or food items.
Health officials in several states collected Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal from retail locations and ill people's homes for testing. Laboratory testing identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Mbandaka in a sample of unopened Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal collected from a retail location in California. Laboratory testing also identified the outbreak strain in samples of leftover Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal collected from the homes of ill people in Montana, New York, and Utah.
The Kellogg Company recalled all Honey Smacks products that were on the market within the cereal's one-year shelf-life. However, Honey Smacks products with earlier dates could also potentially be contaminated. Do not eat Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal of any size package or with any "best if used by" date.
CDC will provide updates when more information is available.
Posted July 12, 2018 4:00 PM ET
CDC continues to recommend people not eat and retailers not sell any Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal. It might be contaminated with Salmonella and could make people sick.
CDC recommends people do not eat any Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal because it has been linked to a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections.
Important advice for consumers and retailers:
- Do not eat any Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal, regardless of package size or best-by date. Check your home for it and throw it away, or return it to the place of purchase for a refund. The Kellogg Company recalled the cereal on June 14, 2018.
- Retailers should not sell or serve Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal.
- Even if some of the cereal has been eaten and no one got sick, throw the rest of it away or return it for a refund.
- If you store cereal that looks like Kellogg's Honey Smacks in a container without the packaging and don't remember the brand or type, throw it away.
- Thoroughly wash the container with warm, soapy water before using it again, to remove harmful germs that could contaminate other food.
Investigation details:
- CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka infections.
- 100 people infected with the outbreak strain have been reported from 33 states.
- 30 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
- Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence(https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/outbreaks/investigating-outbreaks/index.html) indicates that Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal is the likely source of this multistate outbreak.
- This investigation is ongoing and CDC will provide updates when more information is available.
Case Count Update
Since the last update on June 14, 2018, 27 ill people have been added to this investigation.
As of July 12, 2018, 100 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Mbandaka have been reported from 33 states. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Case Count Map page(https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/mbandaka-06-18/map.html).
Illnesses started on dates from March 3, 2018, to July 2, 2018(https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/mbandaka-06-18/epi.html). Ill people range in age from less than one year to 95, with a median age of 57. Of ill people, 68% are female. Out of 77 people with information available, 30 (39%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Illnesses that occurred after June 19, 2018, might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when their illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 4 weeks. Please see the Timeline for Reporting Cases of Salmonella Infection(https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/reporting-timeline.html) for more details.
Investigation Update
State and local health officials continue to interview ill people and ask questions about the foods they ate and other exposures(https://www.cdc.gov/features/solvingoutbreaks/index.html) in the week before they became ill. Fifty-five (85%) of 65 people interviewed reported eating cold cereal. In interviews, 43 people specifically reported eating Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal. Ill people in this outbreak reported this cereal more often than any other cereals or food items.
Health officials in several states collected Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal from retail locations and ill people's homes for testing. Laboratory testing identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Mbandaka in a sample of unopened Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal collected from a retail location in California. Laboratory testing also identified the outbreak strain in samples of leftover Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal collected from the homes of ill people in Montana, New York, and Utah.
The Kellogg Company recalled all Honey Smacks products that were on the market within the cereal's one-year shelf-life. However, Honey Smacks products with earlier dates could also potentially be contaminated. Do not eat Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal of any size package or with any "best if used by" date.
CDC will provide updates when more information is available.
Posted July 12, 2018 4:00 PM ET