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CDC warns don't eat Honey Smacks cereal as Salmonella outbreak continues

Posted at 5:25 PM, Sep 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-05 18:37:32-04

As the salmonella outbreak continues to sicken more and more people, the CDC has issued another warning not to eat Honey Smacks cereal.  

***VIDEO NOTE: During his segment on 7 Action News, Dr. Nandi misspoke and mentioned Sugar Smacks. They are not affected by the CDC warning***

Thirty more people from 19 States have fallen ill, bringing the total to 130 people.  

Here’s what’s important to know: If you have a box of Honey Smacks cereal sitting in your kitchen pantry, you need to get rid of it.  

It doesn’t matter if you bought it yesterday, or back in March, or whether you opened the box this morning or six months ago. And you don’t need to look at the best-by-date, the UPC Code numbers, or even how large the cereal box is.  

What matters is that you do not eat it. Please throw it out, or return it to the store, or contact Kellogg’s for a refund. 

The CDC has asked stores not to sell it, but the concern is that contaminated boxes of Honey Smacks may still be in circulation.  

Kellogg’s stopped making the cereal back in June and has not shipped any new boxes to retailers. So if you see the product on store shelves, call the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator at 313-393-8189.

The CDC estimates that 23,000 people are hospitalized every year due to salmonella, and around 450 people die because of it.

 For most of us, a salmonella infection will cause symptoms like fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps which typically lasts between 4 and seven days. Some people can be hospitalized because of severe diarrhea.  

There’s also a possibility that the infection could spread from the intestines to the bloodstream.  And if antibiotics are not given soon enough, then death can happen.  

Luckily this is very rare, and no deaths so far have been linked to this outbreak. However, there have been 34 people hospitalized.