FDA Launches Investigation Into Lucky Charms After Reports of Illness

Boxes of General Mills Lucky Charms cereal are displayed on a shelf at a Safeway store April 18, 2022 in San Anselmo, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is investigating scores of reports from consumers who claimed they got sick after eating Lucky Charms.

The agency confirmed to several news outlets this week that it is “is currently reviewing and investigating” reports from thousands of people who complained via a website of vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea after eating the General Mills-produced breakfast cereal.

Thousands of people have accused Lucky Charms of making them sick since late 2021 on the consumer website Iwaspoisoned.com, with a number of reports being submitted in April 2022.

“Experienced stomach pain and diarrhea after one bowl of Lucky Charms,” wrote one person, who said they purchased the cereal at a CVS in New York City. “Tried it 2 more times to see if it was actually the cereal, and had the same symptoms.” They said their symptoms included stomach pain and diarrhea.

“My daughter became very sick. 102.7 temp, vomiting, stomach pain and chills. She isn’t able to keep sips of water down. I asked her about everything she had eaten and drank in the past 24 hours and couldn’t figure it out until I saw the news report about Lucky Charms,” wrote another on the site. “My daughter had a bowl of Lucky Charms around 10am and started throwing up around 3pm.”

The FDA told outlets that it is also investigating reports to the agency’s CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System. The FDA said it has so far received over 100 reports about Lucky Charms in 2022.

An agency spokesperson told the Washington Post that “isolated incidents” and “complaints of a less serious nature” are being looked into, and they “may be used during a future inspection of a company to help the FDA identify problem areas in a production plant.”

A spokesperson for General Mills said that those reports will be investigated. The Epoch Times has contacted the company for comment.

“We take the consumer concerns reported via a third-party website very seriously. Through our continuing internal investigations, we have not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to the consumption of Lucky Charms,” the spokesperson told the paper. “We encourage consumers to please share any concerns directly with General Mills to ensure they can be appropriately addressed.”

Earlier this year, Abbott Laboratories issued a recall for lots of Similac and other baby formula products that were made at its plant in Sturgis, Michigan. The FDA also said it is investigating a connection between infants who were sickened with Cronobacter sakazakii and consumed formula that was made at the Michigan factory.