FTC Charges Kellogg with False Advertising

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Frosted Mini-Wheats are not quite so nutritious after all, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which recently ruled that Kellogg Company, the world’s largest producer of cereal, had lied in its advertisements claiming the breakfast food was “clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20%.” FTC officials found Kellogg’s own studies showed only about half the children who ate the sugary cereal showed any improvement in attentiveness, and only about one in nine improved by 20% or more. Federal regulators have barred Kellogg “from making comparable claims about Frosted Mini-Wheats unless the claims are true and not misleading,” according to an FTC statement. No fines will be assessed unless Kellogg does not comply with the terms of the settlement, in which case a penalty of $16,000 would be levied for each violation.

-Noel Brinkerhoff
 

Comments

Leave a comment