This Beloved Cereal Has Now Sickened Hundreds of People, FDA Says

Many people are finding themselves not so lucky after picking up a box of one of General Mills' most popular cereals. For about a month, people across the country have been reporting that they have gotten sick after eating from a box of Lucky Charms. It started off with around 140 people reporting symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and more. Then two weeks later the number jumped to over 200. But currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reporting 446 cases of illness linked to the iconic breakfast food.

Customers have complained of gastrointestinal issues after consuming the cereal. Many have reported their symptoms to the FDA's CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System, where the agency monitors product complaints. Others have also taken their stories to iwaspoisoned.com, where thousands of people have reported nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea after consuming the product.

"Second time having a different box of Lucky Charms and it gave me diarrhea within four hours of consumption," one commenter said on the website on April 27. "I've had problems with it before, but not this bad. STAY AWAY FROM LUCKY CHARMS."

lucky charms bowl with milk — Shutterstock

While the cereal is not mentioned on the FDA's website and there is no formal recall of Lucky Charms, an FDA spokesperson has confirmed that it is aware of "complaints regarding illnesses associated with Lucky Charms cereal and is currently investigating these complaints." It has also sent an alert to state and local health departments noting the outbreak and asking for help investigating it.

General Mills, the brand behind Lucky Charms, told the New York Post in early April that it's aware of the reports—but has not found any evidence of illness linked to Lucky Charms after an internal investigation.

"Food safety is our top priority," the cereal brand posted on its Twitter account in response to an angry fan. "We take your concerns very seriously. Through our continuing internal investigations, we have not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to the consumption of Lucky Charms."

Food safety is our top priority. We take your concerns very seriously. Through our continuing internal investigations, we have not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to the consumption of Lucky Charms. Please send us a DM so that we can gather additional details.

— Lucky Charms (@LuckyCharms) April 18, 2022

The cereal features frosted toasted oat with marshmallow "charms" and was launched in 1964. Lucky Charm's marshmallows appear in the shape of hearts, stars, horseshoes, moons, clovers, unicorns, rainbows, and balloons, which the cereal's Leprechaun mascot calls "Magically delicious."

Unfortunately, this isn't the only item at your local supermarket that could make you sick right now. Walmart has recently pulled a popular brand of ice cream and several types of ground beef because they have been recalled.