“I never felt like I had to examine my cheez-its, but lord.”

Rachel Kiley

Published on December 4, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. CST

A TikToker’s unexpected discovery while eating from a brand new box of Cheez-Its has viewers seriously freaked out.

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“I was eating cheez itz and the next thing I know I took a bite and my mouth was full of ink!!” Maleehah (@wafflehousecheesyeggs) captioned a short video posted on his TikTok. In the clip, she shows viewers her tongue, which has turned an inky purple-black color.

What happened to that box of Cheez-Its?

What started as a simple viral video that has been viewed more than 3.1 million times since it was posted on Sunday has turned into a saga as Maleehah searches for answers about what went wrong with the box of Cheez-Its she purchased from a Harris Teeter in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“I felt like I was eating a pen,” she recalled in a second video. “So I started going through them and there were these pieces that had, like, a pen on them. It’s actually built into the Cheez-It. And I try to go through the bag and find something, like a pen or a packet or something. But it was actually built into the Cheez-Its.

The TikToker shared a number of images supporting what she was saying, including entire Cheez-Its that appeared to have something that looked like ink on or in them, and the black remains of what she was saying spitting after eating something new. bag.

How do I report a problem with a box of Cheez-Its?

Viewers immediately had several suggestions for how Maleehah should handle this bizarre situation.

“The girl gets a lawyer and doesn’t return the food to them if she asks,” one commenter wrote. “Save it for your lawyers and see what tests they can do.”

“Please also contact the customer service number listed on the box so they can investigate the issue at the factory. There could definitely be more lots like this! » pointed out another user.

“I hope you kept the box and receipt.” You need to take legal action that could have made you really sick or worse,” said a third.

After calling the poison control center, Maleehah said she went back to Harris Teeter in person to speak with someone, in addition to contacting Cheez-Its’ parent company, Kellanova. (The Daily Dot contacted both companies by email.)

She shared texts with a Harris Teeter general manager who said his wife would “take the product to the quality assurance department at our corporate office” via text message. Her most recent update also stated that she was waiting for a response from someone at Kellanova.

@wafflehousecheesyeggs @Cheez-Can you explain this?? I’m really upset because these are my favorite snacks #for you #fyp #pageforyou #carolinedunord #oh my God #harristeeter #ew #cheeseitz #wtf #help ♬ original sound – wafflescheesyeggs

Viewers are disturbed and worried

While it’s still unclear what exactly is going on with the bundle of Cheez-Its Maleehah purchased, the footage she shared has viewers seriously freaked out.

“Oh my god, I’m not horrified because cheezits are my absolute favorite!” one user wrote.

“JUST got two boxes (of Cheez-Its) today and I’ve already eaten a ton,” admitted another. “I’m freaking out now because I never felt like I had to examine my chee itz but lord.”

“I had something similar when I was little…I was eating Cheetos and biting something hard and bitter and kept spitting out black stuff,” another user recalled. “To this day I don’t know what it was.”

“I find it alarming how often I see videos of people finding spoiled things in their food,” another wrote. “This is like the 3rd video of this week.”

Maleeha said She originally posted the video because she had seen a number of TikToks about food recalls and had been “freaked out”, so she wanted to know if anyone had had a similar experience with Cheez-Its recently.

“There’s no way I have the only… box of anything,” she said.

The Daily Dot contacted Maleehah via a TikTok comment.

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