A criminal and internal investigation is underway at a Kellogg’s facility in Memphis, Tennessee, the company said. An internal investigation has already found the video was filmed in 2014.
Rice Krispies Treats, Rice Krispies Treats cereal, and puffed rice cake products were all potentially affected in the incident, although they would now be past their expiration date. According to Fox News, The video was uploaded to the World Star Hip Hop site and is now all over YouTube.
Kellogg’s spokesman, Kris Charles said the company is “outraged by this completely unacceptable situation.” In a statement published on Saturday, Charles said, “We were shocked and deeply disappointed by this video that we just learned of yesterday. We immediately alerted law enforcement authorities and regulators.”
The statement also said, “Food quality is of the utmost importance to Kellogg Company. We are outraged by this completely unacceptable situation, and we will work closely with authorities to prosecute to the full extent of the law.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also stepped into the investigation, according to CNN affiliate WREG in Memphis, Tenn. The station is saying the video may have been shot in 2014 during a labor dispute between Kellogg’s and employees who were locked out.
The labor dispute referenced by WREG.com was over a contract disagreement with the worker’s union, and Kellogg’s instead of backing down went instead for a lockout, putting 225 workers off the job for almost 10 months. it was a very contentious time for the employees and the company.
What made it worse for the employees was that Kellogg’s cut off their health benefits the day the lockout began and hired temporary workers to replace the full-time employees. Kelloggs has a very generous employment package, with full-time employees making up to $28 an hour.
