Nov. 3, 2009
Kellogg's Immunity Claims Draw Fire
Boxes of Krispies Cereals Say They Help Boost Kids' Immune Systems, but Critics Challenge Assertion
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Play CBS Video Video Do Cereals Boost Immunity? Parents are skeptical about Kelloggs cereal's promise to boost immunity and some even allege it is preying on H1N1 fear. Kelly Wallace reports.
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(CBS)
A banner reading, "Now helps support your child's IMMUNITY" can be seen in bold letters on the front of boxes of Rice Krispies, Cocoa Krispies and Frosted Krispies.
The label also says Kellogg has increased the amount of Vitamins A, C and E the cereals contain from 10 percent of the recommended daily minimum consumption to 25 percent.
But some parents, health advocates and others are skeptical.
"I don't think it has that much nutrients in the cereals that kids need to be having," one mother in a Los Angeles mall told CBS News."
The city of San Francisco sent a letter this week to Kellogg and the Food and Drug Administration requesting evidence of the immunity claims, suggesting Kellogg "may mislead parents at a time when they are increasingly worried about the spread of the H1N1 virus."
And Kelly Brownell, of Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, observed to CBS News Correspondent Kelly Wallace that, "It simply defies logic to think that spraying on some vitamins and minerals to a cereal that's otherwise almost 40 percent of its weight in sugar makes a healthy product. It just doesn't add up."
Kellogg counters that the increase in vitamins means the cereals do promote good health.
In a statement, the company says, "These nutrients have been identified by the Institute of Medicine and other studies as playing an important role in the body's immune system. Therefore, we believe the claim ... is supported by reliable and competent scientific evidence."
Kellogg also disputes the claim that it's playing on parents' H1N1 fears, saying it began developing the line of cereals in focus more than a year ago, before most people even knew of H1N1, adding that the cereals have been on store shelves since May.
But registered dietician Keri Glassman, an "Early Show" contributor, was sharply critical of the Kellogg claims Tuesday, telling co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez simply adding some vitamins "absolutely" doesn't make the cereals healthier. "Fortifying healthy foods," Glassman says, "is important and actually is a way that many people in this country meet their nutrient needs. Fortifying a junk food, though, absolutely does not make it health food.
"The second ingredient in Cocoa Krispies, which is the one I have the real problem with, is sugar. It also has high-fructose corn syrup, another refined sugar, and partially hydrogenated oils, otherwise known as trans-fats. Overdosing on sugar actually weakens our immune system. So, although antioxidants are important to boost our immune system, slapping it on a sugared cereal, we can't slap immunity across it. It's very misleading to go parents out there, especially with what's going on in the world right now (H1N1)."
Glassman pointed to several widely-available foods that have been shown to help immunity.
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- @CompletelyFrustrated
The flaw in your logic is that parents will know enough about nutrition to read a label and understand what it means. People in general are ignorant about nutrition and the sad thing is their ill health affects us all. Right now the only information these people get about nutrition are the dubious claims made on the front of the packages they by. I've picked up cookies claiming to be trans fat free and reading the ingredients see trans fat listed under a different name. Claims on the front of boxes are tricky and you need to be nutritionally savvy to know the good from the bad.
The problem wouldn't be so bad if these high fat, high sugar foods weren't also addictive, meaning the more of them you eat, the more you want to eat. And that they turn off the bodies natural satiation controls causing over consumption.
I'm sick of these large food conglomerates making false claims about the health benefits of their food hoping to doupe the naive and ignorant. Poptarts, sugary cereal, chips candy and soda are not health food, they never will be health food don't market them like they are! It's ok to once and a while have a cookie but it shouldn't be an everyday thing and defiantly not as an entire meal, despite what Kraft, Kellogg, Cadbury, Hershey, Hostess, General Mills etc etc would have you believe.
Just be honest. - Reply to this comment
- If you have H1N1 fears, my child came home from school saying they learned to cough and sneeze into their elbows with Germie Wormie, and I was totally taken aback. I always used my hands. But I went to the website, and now I get it, hands touch, elbows don't!! Kids can touch up to 300 surfaces in 1/2 an hour, and they hate to wash their hands. This is a simple thing that can make a huge difference. There is also an entertaining DVD that teaches kids how to do this and reinforces other important preventative habits. Even if you get the vaccination, you can still be a carrier of H1N1, which is why this 'hands-on' prevention is so important.
- Reply to this comment
- This is another non-news joke!
First blasting a sugar cereal is bad enough, but Rice Krispies have little sugar 4g, so on that one eating a healthy serving is better than the cocoa version, but gimme a break and parent who honest thinks ANY breakfast cereal is going to ward off the flu needs to have their parent's license revoked!
Maggie CBS made you look like the village idiot again! - Reply to this comment
