A YouTuber has branded the newly launched Lunchly packs ‘disgusting’ after finding moldy cheese in a pack she had just opened.
Rosanna Pansino called out MrBeast, one of the biggest names on YouTube, and warned people that his brand may not be safe.
MrBeast, whose real name is James Donaldson, launched Lunchly in September in partnership with fellow content creators Logan Paul and KSI, advertising it as a “healthier alternative” to Lunchables.
The packed lunch includes one of three options – ‘Turkey Stack ‘Ems’, ‘The Pizza’ and ‘Fiesta Nachos’ – as well as a bottle of Prime sports drink and a chocolate bar made by MrBeast.
But while filming a YouTube video in which she tried out the brand, Ms. Pasino said she found it fragmented cheese in ‘The Pizza’ option was covered in mold despite being well within its expiration date.
MrBeast (center) launched Lunchly in September in partnership with fellow content creators Logan Paul (right) and KSI (left), advertising it as a “healthier alternative” to Lunchables
A photo of the mold Rosanna Pansino said she found in her Lunchly package
Other TikTokkers have also posted videos claiming that they too have found mold in their Lunchly packages
She posted on X: ‘This is disgusting. I was filming a video comparing Lunchables to Lunchly and was shocked when I opened ‘The Pizza’ Lunchly. The cheese had MOLD!’
‘The expiration date was still 2 months away! I checked online and found at least a dozen other people posting that their Lunchly’s were also moldy. The full video is on my YouTube channel.’
It comes as other TikTokkers have also posted videos claiming that they too have found mold in their Lunchly packages.
In a promotional video for ‘The Pizza’, MrBeast, who claims to earn around £550m a year on YouTube from his stunts and challenges, previously boasted that ‘our pizza uses real cheese’.
The product is also described online as: ‘Come in, the only one: ‘The Pizza.’ Made with premium toppings you can trust, each LUNCHLY box contains 12g of protein per pack and 400mg of electrolytes per PRIME Hydration.
‘No secrets in our sauce, just bold snacks and good vibes.’
However, in her YouTube video, Ms Pasino says: ‘These should last until December and we have taken them off the shelf.
‘It says use until December 4, 2024 and today’s date is October 16, so these should last another two months.
‘This is cast. That’s mold! This is not safe, especially in children who are so young that they may not know what mold looks like, so they may just eat it.
TikTokkers have posted images on the social media platform of what they claim is mold in their Lunchly packages
Pictured: What appears to be mold on a packed lunch posted by a user on TikTok
TikTokker opens the package and sees what appears to be mold on the grated cheese
TikTokker says they’re now eating Lunchables because they found ‘mold’ on their Lunchy package
‘This is really unhealthy, you shouldn’t eat mold. I think it’s a packaging issue, the kit feels very cheap here. It is not vacuum-tight.’
She insists she “didn’t fake this” and merely made a video comparing Lunchly to Lunchables.
The claims come amid criticism of the lunch boxes from campaign groups and other YouTubers.
Nika Pajda from youth campaign group Bite Back said: ‘Lunchly is the latest example of high fat, salt or sugar content products targeting young people, and it is particularly worrying to see this being promoted by social media stars who are so influential are like children.’
In a statement to Newsweek, Lunchly said: ‘All Lunchly products undergo a rigorous review process to ensure the quality and safety of its products.
“That process involves multiple inspections and approvals, including those from the USDA, before a product can even leave the manufacturing facility.”
DailMail.com has contacted the company and MrBeast for further comment.
MrBeast is YouTube’s most followed creator and claims to earn £550 million a year, thanks to his expensive stunts and challenges.
The 26-year-old from Wichita, Kansas uploaded his first YouTube video in February 2012, at the age of 13.
His early content revolved around harmless jokes about friends and he first went viral in 2017 with a video of himself counting to 100,000 – a stunt that took more than 40 hours to complete.
As his following grew, Donaldson moved toward the lavish giveaways that have become his trademark.
YouTube star MrBeast (pictured) was once hailed as a ‘philanthropist’, but multiple events have called his reputation into question
On his 26th birthday, MrBeast announced on Instagram that he was giving away six Teslas
MrBeast (pictured in 2023) is the most subscribed YouTube creator, with 317 million followers
It started small, with giving away cash prizes to members of his community, but quickly gained momentum and in 2018 he donated $100,000 worth of products to a homeless shelter.
In one video, he dropped $20,000 from a drone and gave a pizza guy the house he was delivering to as a tip.
Donaldson himself attributed his success to innovative thinking and calculated risk-taking.
In 2021, it was reported that less than half (45 percent) of its revenue was reinvested in its channel.
However, the stunts have also been known to divide opinion. In January, he released a video showing dozens of people from the U.S. and around the world whose severe cataracts he had removed with the help of a nonprofit eye care organization.
Some critics questioned whether he was kind to the clicks, but the doctor who performed the surgery said many patients had benefited from it.
Similarly, he was criticized online for giving a young waitress a new car with logos as a tip – with several people decrying the gesture as a shameless publicity grab.
Donaldson, in turn, explained his generosity in a video in 2018. “I really enjoy helping people,” he said.
Earlier this year, MrBeast revealed he earns a whopping £550 million a year, but claimed not to be rich.
The social media star said everything he gets from a video or post is reinvested into future content or giveaways.
