How To Tell If You Ate The Wrong Mac And Cheese

This week, Kraft voluntarily recalled 242,000 cases of its signature Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, citing potential bits of metal appearing in some of the boxes. In all, the cases span over 6 million of Kraft's signature blue boxes, which were shipped throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and some South American and Caribbean countries, though Canada was not affected. So, how can you tell if you're one of the hundreds of thousands (if not, millions) affected?

Check the "best by" date and the code just under the date. All single boxes as well as three, four, and five packs measuring 7.25 ounces per box with "best by" dates between September 18, 2015 and October 11, 2015 as well as a "C2" under the date are part of the recall. For those multi-pack Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinners, the company suggests checking every single box as a precaution, as "some of these products have also been packed in multi-pack units that have a range of different code dates and manufacturing codes on the external packaging."

The specific location of the factory that may have distributed the tainted boxes has yet to be named. According to Kraft spokesperson Joyce Hodel, "We believe a piece of stainless steel got wedged in a metal piece of equipment, which may have generated friction that resulted in small pieces of metal potentially falling into the product."

So far, eight people have filed claims regarding the small metal pieces and no injuries have been reported. If you find yourself with a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner that matches the "C2" code and "best by" date, Kraft says you can return the box to where you bought it from for a full refund or exchange. You can also call their consumer relations hotline at (800) 816-9432 for a full refund. The hotline's hours run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST Monday through Friday.

The recall lowered Kraft's stock by 2 percent, though the company appears to be bouncing back. Kraft has been through voluntary product recalls before, the most recent occurring just last year. Though far smaller, the recall affected twelve states and concerned not enough sorbic acid being used in 260 cases of Velveeta.

Images: FDA, Getty, Flickr/Mike Mozart