Kellogg’s Honey Smacks Recalled After Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella

Highlights

CDC recommends people do not eat recalled Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal because it has been linked to a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections.

Important advice for consumers and retailers:

• Do not eat Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal in any size package. Check your home for it and throw it away, or return it to the place of purchase for a refund.
• Retailers should not sell or serve recalled Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal.
• The Kellogg Company recalled Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal on June 14, 2018.
• Even if some of the cereal has been eaten and no one got sick, throw the rest of it away or return it for a refund.
  • If you store cereal in a container without the packaging and don’t remember the brand or type, throw it away.
  • Thoroughly wash the container with warm, soapy water before using it again to remove harmful germs that could contaminate other food.

Investigation details:

• CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka infections.
• 73 people infected with the outbreak strain have been reported from 31 states.
• 24 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
• Epidemiologic evidence indicates that Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal is a likely source of this multistate outbreak.
• This investigation is ongoing and CDC will provide updates when more information is available.

What's New?

• CDC has expanded its advice. Do not eat Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal of any size package or with any “best if used by” date.

Initial Announcement

June 14, 2018

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka infections.

Public health investigators are using the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that may be part of this outbreak. PulseNet is the national subtyping network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by CDC. DNA fingerprinting is performed on Salmonella bacteria isolated from ill people by using techniques called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole genome sequencing (WGS). CDC PulseNet manages a national database of these DNA fingerprints to identify possible outbreaks. WGS gives a more detailed DNA fingerprint than PFGE.

As of June 14, 2018, 73 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Mbandaka have been reported from 31 states. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Case Count Map page.

Illnesses started on dates from March 3, 2018, to May 28, 2018. Ill people range in age from less than one year to 87, with a median age of 58. Sixty-five percent are female. Out of 55 people with information available, 24 (44%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Illnesses that occurred after May 22, 2018, might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 4 weeks.

Please see the Timeline for Reporting Cases of SalmonellaInfection for more details.
Investigation of the Outbreak

Epidemiologic evidence indicates that Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal is a likely source of this multistate outbreak.

In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposuresin the week before they became ill. Thirty (77%) of 39 people interviewed reported eating cold cereal. In interviews, 14 people specifically reported eating Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal. Ill people in this outbreak reported this cereal more often than any other cereals or food items.

On June 14, 2018, the Kellogg Company recalled packages of Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal.
CDC will provide updates when more information is available.