CDC hasn’t warned about deadly ramen noodles, despite social media claims

Ramen noodle lovers everywhere can slurp in peace. A social media claim that a deadly bacteria was found in the products is bogus.

The claim appears to have been instantly generated using artificial intelligence. 

"A deadly outbreak linked to ramen noodles has sparked global fear as multiple deaths have been reported," a Sept. 17 Instagram video said through a talking fish. 

The video also said children have gotten sick and died within hours and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that a third of infected adults may die. Experts traced it to "a dangerous bacteria named streptococcal," the video said.

The Instagram post was later deleted but the video exists on YouTube under an account with the same name.

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

The Instagram account’s profile page links to a product called Headlines, which, for a fee, says subscribers can "experience the future of news with AI-driven personalized content texted directly to you." It promises to send "fact-checked news texts based on your preferences."

It appears the fact-check of this Instagram post failed, however.

(Instagram screenshot)

The video shows screenshots of three online articles that describe seven children from other countries dying after eating instant noodles. Two of the incidents happened in South Africa in 2021, and the third in Pakistan happened in May. 

We found other social media users making similar claims, citing the overseas deaths.

None of the articles mentioned streptococcal bacteria. A 2022 news report said Grandisync, the noodle manufacturer, said the children in South Africa died from ingesting an insecticide, not the noodles. We contacted the National Consumer Commission in South Africa, which was investigating the company, but received no response.

It’s unclear from other Pakistan news reports what caused the children’s deaths.

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Back in the U.S., the CDC website shows no press releases or active investigations about foodborne outbreaks in ramen noodles, or about streptococcal being found in them.

Streptococcus is a contagious bacteria that can cause different types of infections, from minor ones such as strep throat to potentially deadly ones such as necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease. Streptococcus is usually spread by respiratory droplets or direct contact, but rarely can be spread through improperly handled food, the CDC said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, in May announced the company Sun Noodle voluntarily recalled about 37,000 cases of a frozen noodle product it said contained undeclared egg white powder. In December, New India Bazar recalled Maggi 2 Minute Noodles because of undeclared peanuts.

In 2019, a brand of veggie ramen was recalled because of hard-boiled eggs potentially contaminated with listeria.

But there are no recent ramen noodle recalls. We searched the FDA’s recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts website and found nothing about ramen noodle products being recalled because of a deadly bacteria.

The claim that the CDC warned that people are at risk of death from a deadly bacteria found in ramen noodles is not backed by evidence. We rate it False.

CORRECTION, Sept. 23: This story was updated Sept. 23 to change the number of children who died after eating Ramen noodles in South Africa and Pakistan to seven.