Some Popular Breakfast Cereals May No Longer Be Considered “Healthy” by the FDA - Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce (2024)
TheU.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing new criteria for manufactured foods to be labeled as “healthy,” and under the proposed guidance some popular breakfast cereals could no longer make that claim.
According to the FDA, more than 80% of people in the United States aren’t eating enough vegetables, fruit and dairy — and most consume too much added sugars, saturated fat and sodium.
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
Under the proposed definition, a product can be labeled with a “healthy” claim on packaging if it:
Contains a certain meaningful amount of food from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (e.g., fruit, vegetable, dairy, etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.
Adheres to specific limits for certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The threshold for the limits is based on a percent of the Daily Value (DV) for the nutrient and varies depending on the food and food group. The limit for sodium is 10% of the DV per serving (230 milligrams per serving).
Here are 10 cereals that would not be considered “healthy” under the FDA’s proposed criteria:
Raisin Bran — 9 grams of added sugars
Special K — 10 grams of added sugars
Honey Bunches of Oats — 9 grams of added sugars
Kellog’s Corn Flakes — 4 grams of added sugars, 300 milligrams of sodium
Honey Nut Cheerios — 12 grams of added sugars
Post HoneyComb — 12 grams of added sugars
Quaker Oats Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar Breakfast Cereal — 9 grams of added sugars
Rice Chex – 330 milligrams of sodium
Quaker Life Cereal — 8 grams of added sugars
Kashi Go Original Cereal — 7 grams of added sugars
The proposed rule came about after the release of a national strategy to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, reduce diet-related diseases, and close disparity gaps by 2030.
Updating the labeling requirements could also help foster a healthier food supply if some manufacturers reformulate or develop products to meet the new definition, according to the FDA.
The agency is also in the process of studying the development of a symbol that many manufacturers could use to show that their product meets the “healthy” claim criteria. It noted that many consumers are busy and, while shopping, may be seeking a quick way to identify and select health products.
Future planned actions include:
Developing a front-of-package (FOP) labeling system to quickly and more easily communicate nutrition information to empower consumers to make healthy decisions.
Facilitating making nutrition information easily available when grocery shopping online.
Facilitating lowering the sodium content of food in the food supply, including by issuing revised, lower voluntary sodium reduction targets for industry.
Holding a public meeting regarding future steps the federal government could take to facilitate lowering added sugar consumption.
Releasing additional education and outreach efforts to ensure that parents and caregivers are aware of the latest recommendations for healthy eating in young children and for taking steps to reduce exposure to toxic elements in food.
In a warning letter to to the company, the FDA cited statements on the Cheerios box about its cholesterol-lowering ability as "unauthorized health claims." As a result, Cheerios is an "unapproved new drug" under FDA regulations, the letter said.
To be healthy under the proposed criteria, a cereal needs to have: 3/4 ounces of whole grains and no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, and 2.5 grams of added sugars per serving.
Chlormequat, a pesticide linked to reproductive and developmental issues in animals, is garnering attention after a study showed that it was prevalent in a number of oat-based foods. This includes brand names like Cheerios and Quaker Oats.
Cereal: plain oats, corn flakes and shredded wheat are minimally processed, but when the manufacturer adds sugar, flavourings or colourings, they become ultra-processed cereals. Try sticking to cereals such as porridge, corn flakes, bran flakes, weetabix etc rather than the more processed versions.
Cheerios are made from whole-grain oats and they're a decent source of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber, and Special K is low in calories and fat. But the healthy status doesn't always apply to the 15 other types of Cheerios and the 11 other varieties of Special K in the cereal aisle.
Use the "5-5-10" rule when buying cereal: It should. contain at least 5 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein,and have 10 grams of sugar or less. The breakfast aisle is noisy with health claims.
All breakfast cereals served in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) must not have more than 6 grams of sugar per dry ounce. This is equal to 21.2 grams of sugar per 100 grams of cereal. Here are three ways to tell if a cereal meets the sugar limit.
Cheerios contain whole grains and nutrients like vitamin D and iron. But Cheerios are processed food and eating processed foods often may have negative consequences on your health.
An analysis released today by the Environmental Working Group's Children's Health Initiative found that 21 of General Mills' oat-based cereals and snacks were contaminated with glyphosate and all but four products contained levels higher than what EWG scientists consider safe for children.
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