SMACK DOWN
Hub cereal fans dismayed by CDC salmonella warning
The latest salmonella scare is smacking Bay State breakfast eaters right in the cereal bowl.
Kellogg’s Honey Smacks is the subject of a total recall after bacteria in the sugary breakfast food was found to have sickened dozens across the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some shoppers took the news with alarm.
“My great nieces and nephews eat a lot of that stuff,” said 64-year-old Lu Lu Arcadipane of Everett, who had just cashed out at the Market Basket location in Chelsea. “I love ’em! Can’t eat them now though. I won’t!”
Kellogg’s voluntarily began recalling Honey Smacks in mid-June.
The CDC said the outbreak of salmonella from the cereal has infected 100 people in 33 states — including seven in Massachusetts. The federal health agency is advising customers to throw away the cereal regardless of expiration date or return it to a retailer for a refund.
Those affected by salmonella can experience a fever, cramps or diarrhea within 12-72 hours, according to the CDC.
“You would think that these manufacturers would have sterile conditions, but then again, who knows?” said Steve Gear, 49, who was shopping with his son at the Shaw’s on Border Street in his neighborhood of East Boston. Gear said he worries about salmonella outbreaks.
The Honey Smacks outbreak follows a deadly E. coli scare that impacted romaine lettuce produce
earlier this year. Gear said that’s his favorite salad.
“I went to iceberg for a while, but then again who’s to say that that won’t be the next one to outbreak?” Gear said.
East Boston resident Barbara Falzone, a diabetic, said she doesn’t eat Honey Smacks cereal though is still wary of romaine lettuce to this day.
“The jury is still out as far as I’m concerned,” Falzone said. “When I order I ask them what kind of lettuce they use, and they look at me strangely. But if they tell me romaine I don’t order it.”