Thousands report vomiting, diarrhea after eating Lucky Charms cereal

The end of the rainbow may not have a pot of gold, but a pot of something completely different.

Thousands of people have reported stomach pains, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea after eating Lucky Charms, a sugar-coated cereal fronted by a cartoon leprechaun that tries to prevent hungry children from getting his colorful charm-shaped marshmallows. The illnesses have left many wondering if the latest charms include hearts, stars, horseshoes, and clovers.

The website iwaspoisoned.com, which collects consumer reports of food-borne illnesses, has received more than 3000 complaints about cereals in the past few weeks. Patrick Quade, founder of the site, told The Wall Street Journal that Lucky Charms has received more illness reports than any other product.

The FDA said it has received more than 100 reports of illnesses through its own reporting system.

General Mills told The New York Times that it has not found evidence that Lucky Charms is causing illnesses.

The official Lucky Charms account has been swamped with tummy troubles. The account replied with a long string of messages, starting with "We are very sorry to hear about your experience."

Food safety is our top priority. We take these reports seriously and are aware of concerns via a third-party website. We found no evidence that these complaints are related to our products.

This isn't the first time children's cereals have caused people to rush to the bathroom or the hospital. More than 100 people in 36 states were sent to the hospital because of the Honey Smacks puffed-wheat cereals. An FDA investigation found that the Wisconsin factory that produced the cereals was rife with the pathogen, which was found in more than 100 samples taken from the production lines, coating rooms, and other areas of the plant. The FDA said that the disease can cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain in healthy people while causing more severe illness in children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.

There were no reports of linked illnesses from the recall of a small amount of peanut butter crunch.