"malt-o-meal" news and stories

Shayna told you last week about the recall involving Malt-o-Meal cereal because of possible salmonella contamination. Now comes word that people might have actually gotten sick from the cereal.

Officials are investigating 23 cases of people getting sick from the same strain of salmonella that affected the cereal. The cereal recalled was distributed across the country under the Malt-O-Meal name as well as other names, including Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw's (yikes, that's where I shop!), ShopRite, Tops and Weis Quality.

The people who got sick are from 13 different states.

It sure does seem like I've heard about a lot of recalls lately. Is it always like this, or did I just not pay attention before? I don't know about that, but I do know that Malt-o-Meal is voluntarily recalling some of it's cereals due to the possibility of salmonella contamination.

The unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat cereals with the "best if used by" dates from April 8, 2008 to March 18, 2009 are the focus of the recall. Malt-o-Meal says that the recall is a result of internal safety testing and that no one has reported becoming ill.

You can get full details and information here.

Since Kellogg's cereals are about to go up in price, taking a look at some of the lower-priced alternatives to name brand cereals seems prudent. This month's Consumer Reports happily obliges us with their taste test of store brand frosted flakes (Kellogg's Frosted Flakes), toasted oats (GM Cheerios), and frosted mini wheats (Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats).

Frosted flake cereals are the least nutritious of the bunch, with about 120 calories, 12 grams of sugar and only 1 gram of fiber. Kellogg's well-known brand topped the taste test, tied with the lower-priced Malt-O-Meal version of the cereal. Other brands tasted slightly bitter. CR also noted that a few turned the milk bright yellow. Sounds like it's best to stick to the familiar in this case.