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The Federal Food and Drug Administration said Saturday, At least 23 people from 14 states have been ill by the same strain of salmonella found in two breakfast cereals, which was recalled by Malt-O-Meal.
According to Minnesota’s health department, local officials are investigating if the salmonella case in the state may be linked to the cereals produced by the Minneapolis based company.
“The Malt-O-Meal company has been extremely cooperative in this investigation and has done the right thing to protect the public’s health,” said Heidi Kassenborg, director of the dairy and food inspection division at the Department of Agriculture in Minnesota.
Malt-O-Meal has voluntarily recalled its Puffed Wheat cereals and unsweetened Puffed Rice on April 5 after finding salmonella contamination through routine testing. The contaminated bags were produced in the past year in Northfield.
While three people have already been hospitalized, no deaths have been reported. Symptoms of the salmonella infection include fever, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. The disease can be life threatening, especially for people with weakened immune system or poor health. The FDA said people who experience such symptoms after eating puffed wheat or puffed rice cereal from Malt-O-Meal should visit their doctors immediately and report the illness to local health authorities.
The FDA announced that the recalled products were distributed under the Malt-O-Meal brand name including private labels such as America’s Choice, Giant, Food Club, Acme, Hannaford, Shaw’s, Pathmark, Jewel, Tops, Weis Quality and Laura Lynn with “best used by” dates April 8 to March 18. The agency warns consumers with cereals from the recalled products to throw them out and advices retailers to remove cereals from their shelves.
