Cereal company’s sugar-coated health claims don’t fly with parents

November 6, 2009

Kellogg Co. announced Wednesday that it would discontinue marketing its Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies as products that could boost a child’s immunity. As AdAge.com reports, Kellogg said in a statement that it had started adding antioxidants to the cereals last year.

“While science shows that these antioxidants help support the immune system, given the public attention on H1N1, the company decided to make this change,” the statement reportedly read. “We will, however, continue to provide the increased amounts of vitamins A, B, C and E that the cereal offers.”

Kellogg was responding to critics who charged that its advertising and packaging were preying on parents’ fears of the H1N1 flu virus infecting their children. But the move also comes amid increasing FDA scrutiny of food marketers’ claims.

“If I was sitting in a food company,” AdAge.com quotes Susan Moores, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association as saying, “I would probably look at all of the messaging on all of my packages to make sure I’m not over-promising and under-delivering….”

In the spring the FDA demanded that General Mills cease claims that eating Cheerios could help lower cholesterol by four percent in six weeks, but the agency has yet to take action against Kellogg for claiming that its sugary Cocoa Krispies could boost a child’s immunity by providing a dose of antioxidants. — Greg Beaubien

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