FDA Balks At Cheerios' Health Claims

(AP)  Federal regulators have scolded the maker of Cheerios, saying the company made inappropriate claims about the popular cereal's ability to lower cholesterol and treat heart disease.

The Food and Drug Administration said in a warning letter to General Mills that language on the Cheerios box suggests the cereal is designed to prevent or treat heart disease by lowering cholesterol. Regulators say that only FDA-approved drugs are allowed to make such claims.

Among other claims, the labeling states: "you can lower your cholesterol 4 percent in six weeks."

The FDA allows companies that market whole grain foods like Cheerios to highlight their ability to reduce the risk of heart disease. While the box carries that claim in the lower left hand corner, the language about cholesterol is much larger and appears separately - something the FDA does not allow.

Regulators also object to the company's claim that Cheerios can lower cholesterol by 4 percent, since companies are not allowed to quantify the benefit of their foods.

Additionally, companies that make claims about their whole grain foods are supposed to mention that fruits and vegetables are also part of a fiber-rich diet. General Mills' labeling does not include that information.

"Therefore, your claim does not convey that all these factors together reduce the risk of heart disease and does not enable the public to understand the significance of the claim in the context of total daily diet," states the FDA.

The warning letter, dated May 5, was posted to FDA's Web site Tuesday.

General Mills said the health claims on Cheerios have been approved for 12 years and the FDA's complaints deal with how the language appears on the box, not the cereal itself.

"The science is not in question," said spokesman Tom Forsythe in a statement. "The clinical study supporting Cheerios' cholesterol-lowering benefit is very strong."

Cheerios is the best-selling cereal brand in the U.S., with sales of $1.4 billion last year, according to General Mills.

The Minneapolis-based company said it would work with the FDA to address FDA's complaints. The warning letter asks the company to correct the problems within 15 business days of receipt.

The FDA regularly issues warning letters to companies that do not follow regulations for manufacturing and marketing. The letters are not legally binding, but the agency can take companies to court if they are ignored.

In recent years the FDA has begun cracking down on manufacturers who overstate the benefits of their products, amid increased demand for healthy foods.

Shares of General Mills Inc. rose 40 cents to $53.31 in morning trading.

[puzzler125]

What about the oatmeal ads that claim to lower your cholesterol as well? Unless reproducibility has reached 100% testing would vary by a small percentage. if I took your blood specimen, split it, ran a cholesterol test on each specimen, and compared the two results I'd get different results by a small percentage-enough of a percentage to look like your cholesterol dropped!

[andylance1]

The FDA's logic or lack there of states that if any product can lower
cholesterol or reduce high blood pressure, etc. etc. it must be a
drug, and if it is a drug then it falls under our power.

This power mad tool of the drug industry must be constrained from
behaving like the Gestapo. They have ruined thousands of companies
attempting to sell herbal medicine, health food and vitamins with this
same logic.

Many skeptics of this process believe that the FDA wants the nation to
be sick so the pharmaceutical industry can "cure" them. The profits of
the drug industry are so obscene they have the cash to squash the
competition and the FDA is a willing accomplice.

[388jth]

The FDA is nothing but drug pushers. They object to any alternative to pills.

[inventagod]

The FDA is merely a paid tool of the corporations.
Want truth and protection?
Study and read - you can do it.

[grabandgo]

The FDA should be investigating male enhancement pills which are phony, and diet pills which have killed people, but they make billions of dollars each year.
Isn't the FDA supposed to protect people?
This administration is a joke, just a big smoke and mirror show.

[timothyww]

I am SHOCKED to see an American firm lying to us like this!
HHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAA

Just another day in the good old U.S. of A!!!!

[valh1]

King Barry wants to shut down Cheerios so he can push his new Obama O's. Hmmm, wonder what those will taste like???

[Shiraz2009]

The FDA waits over two years to approach General Mills about the 'language.' PALEASE! We all know that the FDA is being pressured by the pharmaceutical companies because Cheerios must pose a serious competition. More and more people are seeking natural and healthier remedies to health concerns and symptoms than drugs which claim to fix one thing and destroy major organs. This just proves that the FDA is a biased, bought out joke folks.

Another thing I find insulting to our intelligence is that there are numerous news stations and papers featuring misleading headlines about this story making folks believe that General Mills is inflating its health claims and this is why the FDA is after them. Unbelievable! It is disgraceful how greedy a society we've become to put $$$ first and people last.

[Shiraz2009]

The FDA waits over two years to approach General Mills about the 'language.' PALEASE! We all know that the FDA is being pressured by the pharmaceutical companies because Cheerios must pose a serious competition. More and more people are seeking natural and healthier remedies to health concerns and symptoms than drugs which claim to fix one thing and destroy major organs. This just proves that the FDA is a biased, bought out joke folks.

Another thing I find insulting to our intelligence is that there are numerous news stations and papers featuring misleading headlines about this story making folks believe that General Mills is inflating its health claims and this is why the FDA is after them. Unbelievable! It is disgraceful how greedy a society we've become to put $$$ first and people last.

[baileyccc]

Time to quote Jack Lalaine, "If it comes in a box don't eat it". Posted by Baileyccc