Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal tied to salmonella, 73 sick, product recalled

The CDC is urging consumers to throw out or return any Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal as it may be contaminated with salmonella.

The Honey Smacks-linked salmonella outbreak has affected 73 people in 31 states so far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

The company is voluntarily recalling all of the sullied cereal stamped with a “best if used by” date ranging from June 14, 2018, through June 14, 2019, Kellogg said in a release. For 15.3-ounce packages, affected boxes have a universal product code - located under the barcode - of 38000 39103. For recalled 23-ounce boxes, it’s 38000 14810.

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“Kellogg is asking that people who purchased potentially affected product discard it and contact the company for a full refund,” Kellogg said.

People were experiencing symptoms of the infection between March 3 and May 28, according to the CDC. New York has the highest number of reported cases with seven; followed by California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, each with five.

The CDC said the Kellogg cereal is the likely culprit in this most recent string of salmonella eruptions because after interviewing nearly 40 ill people about their diets, 30 of them said they ate Honey Smacks within the week before they first felt sick.

Some people who have become ill from eating the cereal since May 22 might not yet be included in the report. As of Thursday, 24 people have been hospitalized but no deaths have been reported, the CDC said.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, according to the CDC. Children under 5 years old, anyone with a weakened immune system and adults over 65 are particularly vulnerable to severe salmonella complications and should be especially vigilant in reducing their risk of contracting the infection, the CDC said.