1.8 million boxes of gluten- free Cheerios cereals are being recalled by General Mills Inc. due to possible inclusion of wheat in its ingredients which can cause allergies to people with gluten allergies.
According to reuters.com, General Mills are recalling Cheerios Original and Honey Nut Flavored cereals because of the possibility that wheat flour got accidentally added in its oat flour system that's supposed to be gluten- free.
Jim Murphy, president of the Cheerios' cereal leg, said that the incident was due to human error when its California facility lost its rail service and they had to off- load their oat flour from rail cars and transfer it to delivery trucks. He also added, "We sincerely apologize to the gluten-free community and to anyone who may have been impacted."
Gluten- free products became proliferate in the market when food businesses and companies started to offer gluten- free products for people who have celiac disease. People suffering from this disease that ingested gluten will experience an autoimmune response that damages the body's small intestine as well as affecting the proper absorption of nutrients needed by the body.
JP Morgan Analyst Ken Goldman said that the amount of recall of the cereals is "not significant." However, he said "We are not sure how costly the recall will be. Our biggest concern is over reputational risk, because the new gluten-free Cheerios just launched."
In a report by cnn.com, General Mills are asking consumers to directly call them if they got on hold of the affected boxes and flavors. Also, they ask for the products on warehouses and store shelves to be returned to them at one. General Mills' spokeswoman, Kirsite Foster, said "[T]here have been reports of illness by consumers online. Two complaints of illness have been reported directly to General Mills related to the affected products."
General Mills is just starting to convert five Cheerios variants to become gluten- free.
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