General Mills cuts sugar in 10 cereals

Following previous moves by big cereal makers Kellogs and Post, General Mills announced it will reduce sugar to single digit grams per serving in 10 cereals marketed to children (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870482550457458575180674481...).

The maker of Lucky Charms, Trix and Cocoa Puffs, General Mills has also increased whole grains in some of their cereals. The reduction of sugar and increase in whole grains are responses to consumer demands as people are increasingly looking at the nutritional value of foods.

Thankfully the Food and Drug Administration has begun cracking down on food packaging that touts misleading health benefits. This led to one industry organization halting its "Smart Choices" labeling program, which was attacked because sugary cereals like Fruit Loops qualified for the label. The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University (http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/) recently published a study that found that the least-healthy breakfast cereals are the most frequently and aggressively marketed directly to children. It also found that General Mills markets to children more than any other cereal company, and six out of 10 of the least-healthy cereals in its study were made by the company.

Children are heavily influenced by television advertising, and get their moms or other care providers to buy them the foods they see in the ads on TV. Sugar in foods marketed to children is a major problem and contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay in children, as well as contributing to lifelong poor eating habits.

Even with these reductions, these cereals still pack a wallop of sugar, down from double-digit amounts (25-30% sugar) to 8 or 9 grams per serving. Compare these to the organic and natural cereals that Down to Earth sells, all with 3 grams or less of sugar per serving:

• Arrowhead Mills “Spelt flakes” (3g), “Kamut Flakes” (2g), “Rice, Wheat, Kamut, Millet, and Corn Puffs” all with (0g)
• Food for Life 4.9 “Ezekiel cereals” - Almond (1g), Flax (0g) and Original (0g)
• “Uncle Sam” cereal (1g)
• Enjoy Life “Crunchy Flax” (2g)
• Barbara's cereals – “Brown Rice Crisps” (2g), “Corn Flakes” (3g), “O's” (1g), “Shredded Wheat” (0g)
• “Wheetabix” (2g)
• “Kashi 7 grain Puffs” (0g)
• Erewhon “Brown rice Crisp GF” (1g), “Brown Rice Crisps NS” (1g)
• New Morning “Oatios” (2g)
• Cascadian Farms “Purely O's” (0g)
• Nature's Path “Puffed Kamut” (0g), “Puffed Corn and Rice”, “Honey'ed Corn Flakes” (3g)
• Mom's Best” Toasted Wheat-fuls”S (0g)

Down to Earth also carries a variety of hot cereals that contain 1 gram or less of sugar per serving.

It is great many companies are reducing the amount of sugar in their breakfast cereals. There is however, still a long way to go.

Thanks for reading.