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United States FDA Investigating Reports of Illness From Lucky Charms
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Thousands of consumers complained of gastrointestinal issues after eating the cereal, but General Mills said it had not found evidence of a link.
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The Food and Drug Administration said on Monday that it was looking into reports that thousands of people had become ill after eating Lucky Charms, the frosted toasted oat cereal with marshmallows marketed as “magically delicious.”
The investigation comes after more than 3,000 people who said they had been sickened after eating Lucky Charms submitted reports to iwaspoisoned.com, a site where consumers can share reports of illnesses that they suspect are related to food products. Several reports on the site detailed bouts of diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain and vomiting after consumption.
The F.D.A. said in a statement on Monday that it had received more than 100 submissions related to Lucky Charms this year through its own reporting system for adverse events and product complaints.
“The F.D.A. takes seriously any reports of possible adulteration of a food that may also cause illnesses or injury,” the agency said.
Andrea Williamson, a spokeswoman for General Mills, which makes the cereal, said in a statement on Monday that internal investigations had “not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to the consumption of Lucky Charms.”
The company takes consumer reports seriously, Ms. Williamson said.
“Food safety is our top priority,” she said. “We encourage consumers to please share any concerns directly with General Mills to ensure they can be appropriately addressed.”
The cereal’s Twitter account shared a similar message, responding to posts from consumers who said they had become ill after eating it by saying that internal investigations had found no evidence of a link.
Lucky Charms, which has been around since 1964, is a frosted, toasted oat cereal with marshmallow “charms” in the shape of hearts, stars, horseshoes, moons, clovers, unicorns, rainbows and balloons. Its mascot, Lucky, a leprechaun in a green hat and matching jacket, is known for his famous catchphrase in decades of television commercials that “frosted Lucky Charms” are “magically delicious.”
