Saipan Tribune

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Cereal products recalled from Saipan stores

The Bureau of Environmental Health has removed from store shelves several cases of Kellogg's cereal products after it received a recall notice from the manufacturer, which is voluntarily retrieving select products from the market due to possible health hazards.

BEH's inspection and enforcement unit staff Lily Kapileo disclosed to Saipan Tribune that they have so far found and recalled a total of 75 cases of the recalled products, all of which were removed from stores on Saipan. Inspections were ongoing as of yesterday on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota

As per the Food and Drugs Administration recall notice, Kellogg's Frosted & Unfrosted Mini-Wheats bite size were being recalled due to possible presence of fragments of flexible metal mesh from a manufacturing part. The company has initiated a voluntary recall of the cereal and products covered by the recall include Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size Original and Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size with the letters KB, AP, or FK before or after the “Best If Used Before” date.

“The BEH teams are working closely with the wholesaler and main distributor in regards to these affected products. At present, 67 cases of the 3800038828 and eight cases of 380007338 were being put on hold for proper disposal,” Kapileo said yesterday.

The bureau, according to Kapileo, receives recall notices from FDA almost daily. As a process, inspectors immediately visit stores to check if the recalled items are available or are distributed on island.

Kapileo said the number of recalled cereal products may increase in the coming days following the completion of inspections in the CNMI. None of the affected products have been found on Rota and Tinian stores so far.

Kapileo is alerting consumers that if the recalled items are still in their homes, they should immediately dispose of the product.

In a public statement earlier this week, the food manufacturer said the affected boxes of cereals range from single servings up to jumbo sizes of 70 ounces and up.

For a specific list of affected serial numbers and their respective “sell-by” dates, visit the Kellogg's company website. In 2010, the company also pulled a variety of its breakfast cereals off store shelves because of “odd colors and odors.”