There's a childlike joy many of us associate with eating the cereals we grew up, whether we were cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, obsessed with Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or simply sailing on the sugar high of most of what the cereal aisle had to offer in those days.
Today, that aisle has changed somewhat, yielding to some healthier options.
But the classics, many made by General Mills (GIS), are all still there too. While many consumers today are looking for ways to reduce their sugar intake, for others it's awfully hard to resist the siren song of Golden Grahams or Honey Nut Cheerios if they embroidered themselves on your heart long ago.
But if your cereal of choice is Lucky Charms (or if its your kids' favorite), you might want to pause before you pour on the milk. Because according to a consumer website where people can report eating brand-name foods that they claim made them sick, something is in the rainbow that isn't sitting in their stomachs so well.
Shutterstock
What's Going on With Lucky Charms?
For the last week, the website Iwaspoisoned.com has been getting hundreds of complaints from people who say they got sick after eating Lucky Charms. Most report that they experienced nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.
" ... upon the first couple bites it didn’t taste like It normally does, but it wasn’t really bad. It was the only thing I ate that day, by night time i was so sick," a New York consumer wrote.
While most report that the symptoms lasted for a day or overnight, a few also report them lasting for weeks.
A user from Florida wrote, " i honestly dont think ive ever been that sick and in that much agony in my entire life and i'm knocking on 60s door. cramps, headache and nausea for days. it was like a living hell."
Others reported that their kids had eaten the cereal and gotten sick as a result.
"We purchased for St Patrick’s Day treat. My daughter has been having symptoms off and on ever since (we thought she had a stomach bug)," a user from Canada wrote.
When reached out to for comment on the complaints, General Mills spokesperson Andrea Williams said that it had investigated the claims.
"Food safety is our top priority. We take the consumer concerns reported via a third-party website very seriously," Williams told TheStreet.
"After a thorough internal investigation, we have not found any evidence that these complaints are attributed to our products. We encourage consumers to please share any concerns directly with General Mills to ensure they can be appropriately addressed.
The FDA is now looking into the issues, according to a report from the New York Post.
General Mills has experienced problems with its breakfast cereals in the past, issuing a recall in 2019 after detecting E. Coli in the Gold Medal flour used in the products. It had a similar issue in 2016 with several other flours as well, including Wondra and Signature Kitchen flour.
