Lloyd loves Special K Red Berries cereal. He never gets to eat it. The trouble is, he doesn’t eat cereal on any kind of regular basis.
I also love Special K Red Berries cereal. I eat cereal every morning. (Twice on Mondays and Thursdays.) If there is Special K Red Berries in the house, I am going to eat it. (It is also delicious dry as a snack. Mmmmmmm…..)
So I thought I’d do us both a favor. I bought plain ol’ Special K for myself, thinking that it would satisfy the craving and leave him the nice box ‘o berries. Well, there are some problems:
First: No Berries. (Sad face)
Second: The red berry kind has flakes that are lightly sweetened. The plain kind does not, so it needs a little sugar.
Third: The plain kind has tiny rock-like objects in it that would have broken my tooth if I wasn’t such a chicken about biting down hard on food. Serious, DO NOT BITE DOWN ON SPECIAL K CEREAL.
I thought I was crazy. The first bowl was weird, but I’m sleepy in the morning so I thought it wasn’t a big deal. The second day I got one stuck in a tooth. The third day I saved one to look at with my microscope. (Dang, that thing is handy.) I figured it was a hard piece of rice bran or something, but it looked so smooth and almost translucent.
Finally, I soaked some cereal in water so I could figure out what was going on. I squeezed some soggy flakes until I felt the hard bumps, then saved the bumps. I’m not alone in this. I googled ‘Special K break a tooth” and found other people with similar problems. Some of them seem to think that they are small hardened lumps of corn syrup, but I don’t know. Someone suggested sending the rest of the box back to the company, and I am kicking myself for not thinking of that sooner.
So, since I’m sure that someone in my huge readership (guffaw) works at Kellogg’s, pass the info along, K?
Hmmm… Now I want to buy some Special K and see the lumps myself. Maybe it’s some kind of genius marketing campaign.
You ARE going to send the box back to the Kellogg’s people, right? I wonder what kind of compensation they will give you.
Special K…..not recommended by 4 out of 5 dentists.
Hmmm…..they look like very small snail shells.
I always thought the hard particles were part of the grain, but not now.
I had the EXACT same problem!
I agree… i miss product 19, switched to Special K when they burred the old. Over the years I’ve noticed the tooth cracking particles getting worse. Best guess is rice husks. Maybe its just their suppler.. likely a cheep source that does a poor job catching the smaller broken husk pieces.. then they wind up making it into the fryer/puffer turning them into “stone” to crunch down on with our porcelain like teeth.
Heading to the dentist this afternoon after broke tooth on Special K last night. Thanks for this info. Going to examine some soggy K’s this evening when I get home!
Did anyone get a reply from Kelloggs?
I just broke one of my teeth eating special k fruit and yogurt cereal and i dont even have dental insurance!! I wish i never bought it. i thought itd be a good idea cause of the folic acid and im pregnant.
That is terrible, Sarah! I am so sorry. 🙁
My mom called me yesterday and said she was eating Special K cereal and she broke her tooth on a rock or what felt like a rock. Unfortunately she threw whatever it was away before she realized her tooth was broken.
That is terrible, Valerie! You would think somebody at Kellogg’s would realize that this is an issue and do something about it. Please tell your mom that I am so sorry that happened. 🙁
I’m also finding these hard pieces in kellogg’s rice krispies. Pretty much in every bite from my bowl. Alarming to find something so hard in your food. The piece I looked at was almost clear.
I wrote to Kellogg’s and got a robotic reply that spewed back exactly what I typed. It basically said that they were unpopped pieces of rice. If that’s the case, they need to have a better sorting machine that sifts those out of the finished product.
I have been eating Special K since 1965 – back then the flakes were smaller and there were NO tiny little hard things in any of it – I ate a LOT of it. Several years ago _ at least 15 – the flakes were made larger and ever since then there are the tiny little hard things – some people actually breaking or chipping their teeth – I have never done that, but I guess I’m careful because I know they are there! I still continue to eat Special K, because it’s one of my favorites, BUT I wish they could make it like they used to! It’s so annoying to have those hard grits to worry about. I’m talking about just regular Special K, not the sugared flavored kind. But I guess people have problems with that, too. FIX IT, KELLOGGS!! You’ll make a lot of people happy.
The recipe was probably changes so the company could save money. The very original recipe did not have this problem. I loved the original special k and keep hoping I will be less to eat it again, all flavors. Occasionally I try a box but continue to be disappointed with the hard granules in there that add to the weight but can sit in you digestive track. If you have any issues dont eat it. Hope they fix this someday.
Totally agree with the post and many comments. I too have chipped a tooth and google brought me here. I agree with Chris’ experience too – never used to be this way before they reinvented themselves a number of years back.
Shame – I do enjoy the cereal and am not risk-adverse…but I’m not looking forward to the repair bill from my dentist 🙁
the hard bits are horrible. i will be phoning the company!
1st time buying the PLAIN special K trying to loose weight never again! Hard bits not happy! I feel its a deliberate roadblock. Why is this not in the “sugared cereals” of Special K? Hmmm. Very Odd!
I am experiencing the problem as I type. I thought it would be a healthier option only to find rock hard bits of what I assume is uncooked grain pieces. So we try to eat a little better, but at what cost?
I came looking for something on the internet about this (as I’m currently navigating all the ‘rocks’ in my bowl of Special K). I’m SO disappointed in Kellogg’s!! Obviously, they know this is a problem. Why are they not fixing it??? Maybe everybody needs to send them their dental bills…
Had no idea about the rocks & stones in Special K. Devastated my mouth and caused pain in the entire left side of my face. Swollen tongue and cheek. Problem eating, swallowing, talking. Anyone up for a class action? Please contact me. frdtoom@yahoo.com
I just had the same problem broke a tooth, entire side of a molar and I did see one of those little tiny rock pieces just after it happened …went to the dentist. He said I should send his bill to the people at Special K
They will probably offer me a new box of cereal?
And now two years later, Jan 2026 I did the same thing again
When will I learn damn special K?
Yes !! I feel like my teeth are going to break eating Special k !! Not going to buy it anymore.. Something is very wrong with it !!
Experiencing this in 2025
It won’t work for me but I understand cuz I’m in school
i was in school so I understand what it work
I keep finding small hard amber pieces that can break a tooth and noticed for the past few years Special K has a soapy flavor sometimes. Anyone else notice that?