Thursday, May 14, 2009
A staple of American breakfasts since World War II, Cheerios has run afoul of the Food and Drug Administration. For two years now, the maker of the cereal, General Mills, has claimed on Cheerios boxes that its product can “lower your cholesterol 4 percent in six weeks” and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. That claim was disputed by the National Consumers League, a Washington-based advocacy group, which complained to FDA officials that the cereal’s health claims made it out to be a drug. So, the FDA fired off a letter to General Mills telling the company to change its marketing or risk having its product pulled off the shelf.
“We certainly don’t have any issues with the safety of Cheerios,” Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told Bloomberg Press. “We just believe that the labeling on this particular product has gone beyond what the science supports.”
The action by the FDA against such a popular food indicates that the regulatory agency intends to be more pro-consumer under the Obama administration, according to Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In April, Kellogg had to settle with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that it falsely advertised that Frosted Mini-Wheats improve children’s attentiveness.
General Mills has said it would work with the FDA to resolve its concerns.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Cheerios Cereal Isn’t So Wholesome as Package Claims (by Catherine Larkin and Duane Stanford, Bloomberg)
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