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Malt-O-Meal Recall of Puffed Rice and Puffed Wheat

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

URGENT UPDATE TO MALT-O-MEAL RECALL INVOLVING PUFFED RICE AND PUFFED WHEAT: 13 STATES HAVE REPORTED 21 CASES OF LABORATORY-CONFIRMED SALMONELLA AGONA LINKED TO THE RECALLED CEREAL, SOME OF WHICH HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR SALMONELLA AGONA.  WE HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY PEOPLE WHO WERE SICKENED.  TO CONTACT US, PLEASE CALL 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL-FREE), E-MAIL LAWYERS AT OUR LAW FIRM, OR SUBMIT OUR LAW FIRM'S FREE CASE CONSULTATION FORM.

Malt-O-Meal has announced a Malt-O-Meal recall of its unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat Cereals produced with “Best If Used By” codes between April 8, 2008 (coded as “APR0808”) and March 18, 2009 (coded as “MAR1809”) because they may have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The recalled product was distributed nationally, marketed under the Malt-O-Meal brand and as some private label brands including Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw’s, ShopRite, Tops and Weis Quality. If you have any unsweetened Puffed Rice or unsweetened Puffed Wheat cereals, you need to look at the code and see if it is part of this recall (all unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat products with “Best If Used By” codes between April 8, 2008 (coded as “APR0808”) and March 18, 2009 (coded as “MAR1809”)). 

The recall was initiated after the company’s internal routine food safety testing detected the presence of Salmonella in a product produced on March 24, 2008.  The company immediately commenced an investigation to determine the root cause of this one positive finding as well as the extent of any possible exposure. Initial results from this follow-up investigation indicate that additional product may have been exposed to this contaminant.

As a result of this internal investigation, Malt-O-Meal has chosen “out of an abundance of caution to protect consumers” to voluntarily remove all unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat products with “Best If Used By” codes between April 8, 2008 (coded as “APR0808”) and March 18, 2009 (coded as “MAR1809”).  

According to Malt-O-Meal, the company’s investigation into the source of the Salmonella has determined a root cause of this situation and corrective measures have been taken to ensure that there is no re-occurrence of this issue.

Situations like this, where a ready-to-eat food product is contaminated with Salmonella, are particularly dangerous because the Salmonella will not be killed by being cooked.  We urge you to e-mail this puffed rice and puffed wheat recall information to friends and family.  Salmonella can be deadly to the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.  Occasionally, even young, health people become seriously ill.

If someone is sickened by the recalled Malt-O-Meal puffed rice or puffed wheat cereal, a Salmonella lawyer should be contacted immediately.  Salmonella litigation is a specialty area of the law, and lawyers with experience should be consulted.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on April 07, 2008 (boomark / email).