Corporate America is a crooked enterprise. The extent of the corruption is unknown, and it may never be fully revealed. Because our politicians are all corrupt, it’s difficult for Americans to believe that much accountability can ever be achieved.
However, every now and then, we are pleasantly surprised. The concerns aren’t necessarily about outright corruption. However, there are a worrisome number of cases in which issues are discovered and subsequently hidden by the corporation.
We may be witnessing one such incident right now. General Mills is being investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Multiple instances of people becoming ill after eating the company’s popular Lucky Charms cereal prompted this study.
The FDA told the Associated Press, “It has received more than 100 complaints related to Lucky Charms so far this year.” There have also been hundreds of posts on the website “iwaspoisoned.com”.
The iwaspoisoned comments mentioned how they experienced nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting after eating Lucky Charms. The Wall Street Journal indicated that they believe the number of reports of people getting sick after eating the cereal is in the thousands.
Of course, General Mills says, “nothing to see here.” The company that produces the cereal said they did their own internal review. General Mills insisted they found nothing “linking the cereal to those who have reported falling sick after consuming it.” What do we think they would say?
These massive corporate behemoths will first try to deflect or denounce any claims. In a statement, General Mills asked customers to share any complaints directly with them. But of course, they would. If there is an issue with Lucky Charms, it’s in the packaging or production.
General Mills doesn’t want people running off to, say, a doctor or nutrition expert. These corporate giants immediately go into damage control mode when their profits are threatened. We can only hope that the FDA doesn’t minimize these serious accusations.
This is an all-too-common outcome of these types of corporate violations. The cause is either removed or glossed over, and any subsequent investigation mysteriously disappears. Despite obvious signs of negligence, no one is ever held accountable. Mistakes do happen, that’s true.
Nevertheless, when mistakes cause harm, there must be consequences. When it comes to the production and distribution of food, this is the responsibility of the FDA. Now, will they do their job, or kowtow to the powerful corporate elite? It would be “charming” if we got “lucky” this time.