Salmonella in Recalled Cereal Sickens Pennsylvania Resident

April 2008

Apr 14 2008 UPDATE –According to the Food and Drug Administration, at least 23 people in 14 states, including PA, have been sickened by a salmonella strain found in Malt-O-Meal cereals. Malt-O-Meal recalled its Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice Cereals on April 5 after uncovering salmonella contamination during routine testing.

The Centers for Disease Control confirmed that it had received reports of illnesses in Pennsylvania, California, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is not yet clear what the 14th state is. Three people have been hospitalized.

Mar 31 2008 ORIGINAL ALERT – Malt-O-Meal Company has issued a recall of its unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat cereals. Routine safety testing detected the presence of Salmonella in certain Malt-O-Meal products.

The cereals were sold nationwide under the Malt-O-Meal, Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw's, ShopRite, Tops and Weis Quality brands. The affected rice and wheat cereals were produced with "Best If Used By" codes between April 8, 2008 and March 18, 2009. A complete list of recalled cereals can be found in Malt-O-Meal's press release.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, those affected with Salmonella may experience fever, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain. In some cases, Salmonella poisoning can be fatal.