Over the weekend there was a recall issued for more than 28 million boxes of cereal because of “uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell coming from the liner in the package.”

As more information surfaces it appears that the issue here is not from the food product at all (which has been FDA approved) but the packaging itself. This creates an even large issue of how to know what is safe to consume ourselves and share with children.

Cereal is a primarily marketed for kids just as juice boxes, fruit snacks, and many other well-packaged products are mainly consumed by kids under 12 years old.  The current theory is that Bisphenl A is the chemical to blame for this incident. What’s scariest about this situation is how common Bisphenl A is and how widespread it is used including for juice and baby bottles. BPA (Bisphenl A) is said to be linked to cases of cancer and can negatively affect mental development.

BPA doesn’t produce a smell and is colorless so it will be interesting to see what the confirmed root cause is for the cereal recall is and what preventive measures Kellogg’s will take.

The Daily Green did a great feature on this as well this morning.

Read more: Kellogg Cereal Recall Highlights a New Concern: Chemicals Leaching From Food Packaging