Consumers may want to think twice before pouring themselves a bowl of Lucky Charms. The popular cereal has been linked to hundreds of reported illnesses nationwide, with consumers taking to iwaspoisoned.com, the website that in the past has helped identify numerous foodborne illness outbreaks, to detail their cases of falling ill.
Consumers who have purchased and eaten Lucky Charms cereal and subsequently fallen ill have reported experiencing a mix of symptoms, including diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, bloating, body ache, gas, stomach pain, and fever, with symptoms occurring shortly after consuming Lucky Charms cereal and lasting anywhere from a few hours to several days. Some consumers have reported falling ill for upwards of two weeks. Recalling their experience, one consumer from Lawton, Oklahoma wrote that they “have been suffering with severe stomach and intestinal problems along with bloating and body aches and headaches” ever since they began eating Lucky Charms. Another person said their entire family fell ill and experienced “diarrhea and vomiting after eating cereal the week of March 27th 2022. We were so sick!! Worse than the flu with vomiting every 5 minutes.” A third consumer shared they fell ill shortly after eating the cereal last month “and is still having problems and pains.” Several consumers suggested the illnesses may be linked to the dye used in the cereal’s marshmallows, with one person writing, “I think there is a dye that is in the cereal that cause digestion problems with me.”
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Reports of illnesses linked to Lucky Charms have surfaced across the nation, including in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Maryland, California, New York, Vermont, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio, Nevada, Washington, Virginia, and Illinois, among others. The illnesses have not been linked to Lucky Charms sold at a particular store, with consumers reporting having purchased boxes of the cereals at retailers including Walmart, Food Lion, H-E-B, Shoppers, Target, Price Chopper, Meijer, and Market Basket.
At this time, Lucky Charms has not addressed the surge in complaints of illness, and a recall has not been issued. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also not issued any official released about the complaints.
Although it remains unclear if Lucky Charms cereal is actually linked to the reported illnesses or if there was possible contamination, this would not be the first time a cereal has been linked to illnesses due to foodborne pathogen contamination. Food Safety News noted that in 2018, more than 130 people in 36 states fell ill due to a Salmonella Mbandaka outbreak traced to Kellogg’s Honey Smacks. During that same year, Quaker Oats Co. recalled Cap’n Crunch’s Peanut Butter Crunch cereal from Target stores due to salmonella.
