FDA: Cheerios’ Claims of Health Benefits Are Overstated

Cheerios, the whole-grain cereal long favored by the health conscious at breakfast and stressed parents in need of an easy snack for fussy toddlers, aren’t all they are cracked up to be when it comes to claims of heart-related benefits, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

General Mills, the maker of Cheerios, has for years made unapproved claims on the boxes of the cereal about its ability to lower cholesterol, the FDA said. According to federal health authorities, General Mills included language on Cheerios boxes that amounted to unapproved drug claims.

The FDA allows food companies to advertise the link between eating fibers from whole grain oats and a reduced risk of heart disease. However, boxes of Cheerios have for at least two years carried language claiming eating the cereal can “lower your cholesterol 4 percent in six weeks,” which violates the FDA rules against claiming a specific degree of risk reduction, the agency said.

General Mills is standing behind the tiny O’s, which have been a staple of many American breakfast tables and packed into little plastic baggies for toddler snack time on the road for generations.

“The clinical study supporting Cheerios’ cholesterol-lowering benefit is very strong,” a company spokesman said.

The FDA also said that unauthorized claims about Cheerios and the link to a reduced risk of heart disease on the company’s Internet site, www.wholegrainnation.com.

General Mills was given 15 days to tell the FDA how it will correct the violations of agency rules. Failure to respond can result in a recall of Cheerios, fines, and other penalties.

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