While those complaints haven’t yet been independently verified, the FDA told CR it could initiate inspections of potentially affected facilities, collect product samples, and contact people who’ve been sickened. The agency declined to answer when CR asked whether any of those specific actions had yet been taken—a spokesperson only confirmed that the agency was aware of the reports and looking into the matter.
The FDA’s own reporting system, the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS), registered three complaints related to Lucky Charms in 2021.
In response to CR’s questions about the complaints, Andrea Williamson, a General Mills spokesperson, said the company takes the consumer concerns reported via a third-party website very seriously.
“After a thorough internal investigation, we have not found any evidence that these complaints are attributed to our products,” she told CR. “We encourage consumers to please share any concerns directly with General Mills to ensure they can be appropriately addressed.” The General Mills consumer services phone number is 800-328-1144.
While consumers wait for the FDA to weigh in definitively on the issue, CR experts advise caution.
Although there are a lot of unknowns, notes CR’s director of food safety and testing, James E. Rogers, PhD, these reports indicate a potential foodborne illness involving this product. The specific cause and the final list of products affected remains to be determined.
In the meantime, Rogers says, consistent with CR’s general advice when consumers have concerns, they can consider choosing from plenty of other available cereal options until more information emerges about whether there’s a problem and what might be causing it.
In the past, iwaspoisoned.com has correctly identified food poisoning outbreaks before they’ve been uncovered by health officials, such as in a 2017 outbreak of norovirus tied to a Wisconsin Jimmy John’s.
