Man Finds Shrimp Tails and More in Box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal

Writer Jensen Karp got a bit more than he bargained for when he opened a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal in his home on Monday.

As Karp explained in a Twitter thread that has since gone viral, the sealed bag of cereal, which was inside a box of the breakfast food he’d purchased at Costco, contained the tasty Cinnamon Toast Crunch Squares as well as at least two shrimp tails. Yes, shrimp tails.

“Ummmm @CTCSquares - why are there shrimp tails in my cereal? (This is not a bit),” he tweeted Monday.

In a series of subsequent tweets shared later on Monday, Karp revealed that he also found a little piece of string inside the box and, unfortunately, that wasn’t even the end of the ordeal. As Karp inspected the actual cereal pieces more closely, he noticed that many of them didn’t look normal.

As he put it: “Also, many of the squares have black marks, and some are dyed red? And yes, I ate a bowl before noticing all this.” He later clarified that the black and red spots appeared to be cooked into the cereal.

Many Twitter users have speculated that a rat (or another small rodent) may have made a home in a bag of flour or other raw ingredient used to make the cereal and that the shrimp, string and everything else is the rodent’s “scavenged items.”

Karp also noted that the cereal bag appeared to be sealed with clear tape, which suggests it may have been tampered with.

When General Mills reached out to Karp regarding his stomach-churning situation, the company responsible for producing Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal initially said the “shrimp tails” he found were just bits of accumulated sugar. Not only did Karp vehemently dispute that claim, but he has also assured naysayers numerous times that this incident isn’t part of some elaborate prank.

For its part, General Mills has seemingly since changed its stance and has offered to test the items Karp found inside his cereal. Karp is apparently sending one of the shrimp tails to the brand, but is keeping the other one so he can have it tested on his own.

By Tuesday afternoon, in an effort to reassure concerned consumers, General Mills shared a statement regarding the incident.

“While we are still investigating this matter, we can say with confidence that this did not occur at our facility. We are waiting for the consumer to send us the package to investigate further,” the company explained. “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 at 1-800-328-1144.”

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