- Jensen Karp said he found two shrimp tails in a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal on Monday.
- The brand initially said the alleged tails were “an accumulation of cinnamon sugar”.
- General Mills told Insider that an investigation was launched into the incident.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
Jensen Karp said he found shrimp tails inside a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, prompting General Mills, owner of the cereal brand, to start an investigation into the matter.
On Monday, the comedian caused a stir on social media by posting a photo of his Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal on Twitter and tagging the brand’s official social media account.
“Ummmm @CTCSquares – why are there shrimp tails in my cereal? (That’s no small feat), wrote “Karp, who is married to” Boy Meets World “star Danielle Fishel. The photo, which has over 75,000 likes, appeared to show two cinnamon sugar-coated shrimp tails mixed with cereal next to the open cereal bag.
—Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) March 22, 2021
Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s official Twitter account responded an hour later, saying it would report the complaint to its quality team, and later asked Karp to send the items to the company in an envelope so they could “take a look more than near”. The brand addressed the claim after an initial investigation in a tweet reply.
“After further investigation with our team that closely examined the image, it appears to be an accumulation of cinnamon sugar that can sometimes occur when the ingredients are not well mixed,” said the reading.
He added: “We guarantee that there is no possibility of cross contamination with shrimp.”
—Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) March 22, 2021
Karp responded with two additional photos that showed a close-up of the shrimp tails in question.
“OK, well [sic] after further investigation with my eyes, these are cinnamon-coated prawns, you freak, “wrote Karp.” I wasn’t so crazy until you tried to light me on gas? “
Karp then shared several other tweets that recounted his Cinnamon Toast Crunch saga, including photos that appeared to show sunglasses cooked in the cereal. He also claimed to have found a piece of string among the cereal box.
—Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) March 23, 2021
—Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) March 22, 2021
“UPDATE: my wife has a stronger stomach than me and I checked the OTHER bag in the family backpack. This one seems sealed (?) And it also seems to include … (I don’t even mean) … dental floss”, wrote Karp .
Karp said the black specs will be tested in the lab and returned to Costco to ask the store about the items.
In the most recent update on Tuesday, Karp shared screenshots sent to him by direct message from Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s Twitter account. He said it was the first time the brand had approached him, as he asked him to send the shrimp tails for evaluation.
“I am not going to give you things, especially since the last time I heard from you was an envelope?” wrote Karp. “Again, your tweet calling it sugar was super weird and the fact that you didn’t say anything to the contrary doesn’t allow me to trust you.”
—Jensen Karp (@JensenKarp) March 23, 2021
In a statement sent to Insider by email, General Mills said it was investigating the matter and denied that the incident occurred at a company facility.
“While we are still investigating this issue, we can confidently say that it did not happen at our facility,” said Mike Siemienas, a spokesman for General Mills, in the statement. “We are waiting for the consumer to send us the packaging for further investigation. Any consumer who finds that their cereal box or bag has been tampered with, such as the adhesive tape that was found in this case, should contact us.”
Karp told Insider that he wants General Mills to investigate the incident so that individuals with food allergies are safe.
“I just want General Mills to admit that they are tails of shrimp (and other weird things) and then investigate so that others (perhaps with seafood allergies) don’t have the same result,” said Karp.
People on Twitter gave their opinion after the photos went viral
While Karp and General Mills played out online, Twitter users (famous or not) couldn’t help but joke and speculate on the mystery of the cereal box.
“Daily affirmation,” wrote actor and comedian Patton Oswalt. “Don’t let the shrimp tails of doubt ruin the Cinnamon Toast Crunch of your purpose.”
—Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) March 23, 2021
Another user joked: “Krispy Kreme is handing out free donuts to anyone who is vaccinated. Not to be outdone, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is handing out shrimp tails for free.”
—Alex Pawlowski (@AlexSourGraps) March 23, 2021
The official “The Walking Dead” Twitter account said they were “EXCITED to announce that Cinnamon Toast Crunch Shrimp will be the next group of villains.”
—The Walking Dead (@TheWalkingDead) March 23, 2021
Many Twitter users shared photos of meals like fried rice with shrimp and joked that it was actually Crunch Toasted Cinnamon. One person used an adulterated image of a Golden Oreo with a shrimp in the middle, writing, “The New Cinnamon Toast Crunch Oreo just fell.”
—King Julien’s Waifu (@ Gardenboy15) March 23, 2021
Even Karp recognized the popularity of the photos, writing: “I am the new Gorilla Glue Girl, am I not?”