People should stop eating Kellogg's Honey Smacks, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as it's been linked to a salmonella outbreak in 33 states.
A hundred people have already been infected across the United States and health experts have traced the flare-up to the Kellogg's cereal.
CDC Outbreak Updates
The agency took to social media to spread the word about avoiding the puffed wheat cereal, which has been recalled by the Kellogg Company as of Thursday, June 14, 2018.
OUTBREAK Update: 100 Salmonella infections in 33 states linked to Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal. Do not eat this cereal. https://t.co/G5WyEiWp5A pic.twitter.com/Fa8EF3izUu — CDC (@CDCgov) July 12, 2018
In an updated advisory from the CDC, consumers are advised to throw away Honey Smacks cereal that they may have at home. If the cereal stored in another container aside from its original packaging, the agency recommends disposing of it and washing the container thoroughly to avoid contaminating other food.
The boxes of Honey Smacks that have been recalled have a "best if used by" date that ranges from June 14, 2018, to June 14, 2019. Also, consumers must watch out for the UPC codes, specifically 38000 39103 for 15.3 oz. and 38000 14810 for 23 oz.
"We continue to work with the FDA and the third-party manufacturer to determine how this happened to ensure it doesn't happen again," a representative from Kellogg's wrote in an e-mail to CNBC. "Kellogg is asking that people who purchased potentially affected product discard it and contact the company for a full refund."
CDC reports that the illnesses range from Mar. 3 to July 2, affecting people ages less than 1 year to 95 years. Moreover, 68 percent of the infected people are female and of the cases recorded, 39 percent have been hospitalized.
New York has the most cases of salmonella with 11 people already infected, with Pennsylvania coming in second with eight cases. CDC provided a case count map illustrating the infected states. No deaths have been reported.
About Salmonella
Salmonella is responsible for 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the United States every year. Food contamination is believed to be the cause of 1 million of all the illness cases.
Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps about 12 to 72 hours after infection. While the sickness usually lasts from four to seven days and passes without treatment, there are instances when the illness becomes so severe that hospitalization is necessary.
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