by Dan Flynn | Sep 21, 2009
For several years, cereal in a bag poised a silent danger to consumers. It was infecting people with Salmonella Agona. An outbreak involving a well-known brand name distributed throughout the country proved once again that America's food supply was not really as safe as the industry said it was. Here is the Malt-O-Meal story:
In April and May of 1998, public health officials in eleven states received an unusually high number of reports that patients receiving health care services for gastrointestinal illness had been diagnosed with Salmonella serotype Agona infections. The number of illnesses represented an eightfold increase over the median number of Salmonella Agona cases reported in those states from 1993 to 1997.
To determine the source of the apparent ongoing Salmonella outbreak, investigators from the states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a case-control study comparing individuals who had been diagnosed with Salmonella Agona with well household members. By June 8, 1998, 55 households had been interviewed and investigators learned that a majority of cases had consumed Millville brand plain Toasted Oats cereal before becoming ill.
Continue reading about the Malt-O-Meal Salmonella outbreak at Food Safety News.