Jessy Edwards  |  March 24, 2021

Category: Consumer News

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A family-size box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal

 

A California man who says he found sugar-coated shrimp tails, string, and what looked like a pistachio in a box of his favorite breakfast cereal is sounding the alarm — and getting the tails tested.

Los Angeles comedian Jensen Karp told The New York Times he had eaten a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast Monday, and was filling his second bowl, when he noticed something strange.

Out of the box had “plopped” what looked like a shrimp tail, coated in sugar. Karp told the Times he looked in the bag and saw what appeared to be another tail. 

He sent a photo to his wife and then contacted the maker of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, General Mills, via a submission form.

Karp then posted a photo of the shrimp tails to Twitter, with the caption, “Ummmm @CTCSquares – why are there shrimp tails in my cereal?” He added the post was not part of any comedy skit.

While General Mills reached out to him privately to offer him a new box of cereal, which he says he declined, Karp told The New York Times he wasn’t upset until the company posted a public response on Twitter denying he had shrimp tails in his cereal.

“After further investigation with our team that closely examined the image, it appears to be an accumulation of the cinnamon sugar that sometimes can occur when ingredients aren’t thoroughly blended,” Cinnamon Toast Crunch said on Twitter. 

“We assure you that there’s no possibility of cross contamination with shrimp.”

Karp shot back with a photo that appeared to appeared to show two sugar-crusted shrimp tails, alongside the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal pieces. 

Cereal in a bowl alongside other breakfast items - cinnamon toast crunch

“Ok, well after further investigation with my eyes, these are cinnamon coated SHRIMP TAILS, you weirdos. I wasn’t all that mad until you now tried to gaslight me?”

He told the Times he then went back to the box and looked through its contents, where he found “shrimp skins-looking things,” a string, what looked like a pistachio, and several pieces of cereal with black bits stuck to them, that he feared were rat droppings.

“I’m not considering legal action. Obviously, if I ate rat poop, we’re gonna have to readdress that,” he said.

He said he believed one of the bags in his two-pack box of cereal may have been tampered with, as he noticed clear tape on the bottom. 

A General Mills representative told The New York Times it was waiting for Karp to send it the bag, but could “say with confidence” the issue didn’t happen at its facility.

“We are waiting for the consumer to send us the package to investigate further. Any consumers who notice their cereal box or bag has been tampered with, such as the clear tape that was found in this case, should contact us.”

Karp said he didn’t trust General Mills with the bags, at which point General Mills advised Karp to send the bag to the police instead.

On Tuesday, Karp took to Twitter with an update: A crustacean researcher from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles had agreed to identify the shrimp using microscopy, and work with a team of researchers to use DNA to identify the shrimp by species, he said. 

“They also are paying for this to be done, which is helpful when a corporation is telling the internet I actually found wads of sugar,” he added.

General Mills produces a wide range of branded foods, and has received a significant amount of consumer complaints over the years. 

These complaints have often led to lawsuits and class actions being filed due to claims of false marketing, dangerous chemicals like weedkiller being found in the products, and many more

For the latest news on General Mills lawsuits, click here

What do you think about General Mills’ response to the customer? Let us know in the comments! 

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43 thoughts onMan Says He Found Sugar-Crusted Shrimp Tails In His Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal

  1. Angelica Romero says:

    Add me omg

  2. Angela jackson says:

    Please add me my family loves this cereal

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