FDA closes case on Lucky Charms

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration closed its investigation into Lucky Charms this week after finding no link between the General Mills cereal and hundreds of self-reported illnesses.

“The FDA investigation has closed with no pathogen or cause of the self-reported illnesses identified, despite extensive testing for numerous potential microbial and chemical adulterants,” the agency announced Wednesday.

Earlier this year, reports of gastrointestinal distress linked to the cereal started showing up on a consumer website dedicated to foodborne illness. The FDA received 558 illness reports and launched its investigation in April, which included factory visits and sample collections.

Golden Valley-based General Mills said it had found nothing that would indicate the cereal was to blame for any illness during its own inspections and did not launch a recall at any point.

Experts were doubtful the cereal was to blame for the geographically and symptomatically wide range of reported cases.