General Mills, Inc. has voluntarily recalled several days of production of Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios cereal that were produced at the company's facility in Lodi, California, according to a press release issued by General Mills.
The recall was due to an undeclared allergen, wheat, which has a potential to cause adverse health effects.
General Mills said in the press release that an isolated incident at its Lodi facility has inadvertently introduced wheat flour into its gluten-free oat flour system.
This resulted in wheat being present in products that are labeled as gluten-free.
General Mills adds in the press release that the voluntary recall includes four days production of the original Cheerios and thirteen days of production of the Honey Nut Cheerios.
These products can be identified with the "BETTER IF USED BY" code dates that indicate the date of production and the plant code LD to indicate that the product was produced at Lodi, California.
General Mills also mentioned in the press release that the code dates of the yellow box Cheerios affected with the recall begin at 14JUL2016LD while the code dates for the affected Honey Nut Cheerios begin at 12JUL2016LD.
A complete list of code dates of the affected products can be found at the company's website.
United Press International stated that General Mills has apologized for the incident at their facility.
"We are embarrassed & sorry to share an incident that occurred at our production facility in Lodi, California, that allowed wheat flour to enter our gluten-free oat-based system," the company said. "As a result, original and Honey Nut Cheerios produced on several dates may contain wheat and were wrongly labeled gluten-free."
General Mills said in the press release that they will be retrieving affected cereals from customer warehouses and store shelves.
Consumers who have wheat allergies, celiac disease or gluten intolerance should refrain from consuming the product and contact General Mills for a replacement or refund.
The United Press International also reported that a company spokesman said two illnesses caused by the affected products have been reported.
