Kellogg’s keeps getting slammed with lawsuits related to misleading consumers. This time the product line in question is Nutri-Grain breakfast bars. According to Food Navigator:

The company is being sued in the US District Court of Southern California for violations of the Lanham Act, Unfair Competition Law, Common law of Unfair Competition, False Advertising Law, and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

In their adverts, the company suggests that Nutri-Grain bars allow you to ‘Eat Better All Day’ because they contain calcium and whole-grains, but the plaintiffs insist that those claims are invalidated by the presence of trans-fats, which contribute to diabetes and heart disease. Read more…

A quick reminder, in November Kellogg’s settled with the state of Oregon, after misleading “immunity claims” on it’s Cocoa Krispies breakfast cereal.

Let’s take a look at Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Yogurt Bars Strawberry Yogurt to see what all the fuss is about.

What you need to know:

Here is the ingredient list. Take a deep breath:

CRUST: WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SUNFLOWER AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, HONEY, DEXTROSE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, NONFAT DRY MILK, WHEAT BRAN, SALT, CELLULOSE, POTASSIUM BICARBONATE (LEAVENING), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, PROPYLENE GLYCOL ESTERS OF FATTY ACIDS, SOY LECITHIN, WHEAT GLUTEN, NIACINAMIDE, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, CARRAGEENAN, ZINC OXIDE, REDUCED IRON, GUAR GUM, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID.

FILLING: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, GLYCERIN, WATER, FRUCTOSE, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND COTTONSEED OIL†, NONFAT YOGURT POWDER [CULTURED NONFAT MILK; HEAT-TREATED AFTER CULTURING], STRAWBERRY PUREE CONCENTRATE, MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH, SUGAR, CORNSTARCH, MALIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CELLULOSE GEL, SALT, COLOR ADDED, CELLULOSE GUM, DATEM, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, MALTODEXTRIN, SOY LECITHIN, CARAMEL COLOR, RED #40.
†LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING

Oh Dear.

Over 60 ingredients!

We won’t go over each one, but we did mark in bold all the sugar synonyms, and underlined the trans-fat.

Note that partially hydrogenated oil means there is trans-fat in the product, even if the nutrition facts label says it contains zero. This is because of a labeling loophole which allows values lower than half a gram per serving to be rounded down to zero.  Too bad that ANY amount of trans-fat is bad for you, and if you’re going to have any it should not be in a purportedly healthy food item.

Don’t be fooled by the strawberry puree concentrate, it is nothing more than sugar by the time it makes it into the filling. No fiber, no vitamin C lost in processing.

Another irritating feature of this product is the claim on the package “More of the Whole Grains your Body Needs.” Unfortunately the second ingredient here is enriched flour, aka refined white flour without any of the whole grain benefits such as fiber.

A serving is one bar, and it contains 14o calories. 13 grams of sugar account for about one third of  the calories, and the fiber count is a measly 2 grams – you really aren’t getting the benefits of the whole grains your body so “needs”.

All told, this is nothing more than a glorified snack bar. Much closer to Twix and Snickers than something that will allow you to “Eat Better All Day”.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you’re looking for a healthier snack to pack in your purse or backpack, how about a banana or an apple? Need something in a wrapper? Look for bars that have short ingredient lists and little or no added sugars. Not to mention partially hydrogenated oils.

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New! Choose a better breakfast with CerealScan™ by Fooducate

Health claims on processed food packages are usually nothing more than marketing messages. So when Kellogg’s plasters the word “IMMUNITY” in quadruple font on the front of its Rice Krispies breakfast cereal, we just have to take a peek (thanks to Fooducate reader TD for the heads up).

We took a look at the product nutrition information and at the Rice Krispies website. We’re not sure if this is a new formulation or just a new marketing campaign, but this is what Kellogg’s boasts:

“Now each and every box is fortified with vitamins and nutrients that work together to help support your child’s immunity.”

“The cereal you love, invisibly better”.

Great pitch folks. Now let’s analyze the facts…

Read more…

We wrote a few days ago about the odd health claim General Mills has tacked on to its Cheerios breakfast Cereal. According to the cereal manufacturer, consuming Cheerios reduces cholesterol by 10% in a month.

Seems like we weren’t the only ones that got ticked. The FDA has officially scolded General Mills last week. But the FDA is not disputing the health claim itself. The FDA wants it to be rephrased, because as it appears now, Cheerios would have to be classified as a drug, not a food.

Ridiculous, no?

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The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that Kellogg’s has admitted it falsely advertised the nutritional merits of kids breakfast cereal Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats Bite Size Cereal. From the LA Times:

Kellogg’s national TV ads asserted that attentiveness improved nearly 20 percent in children who ate the cereal, compared with those who skipped breakfast, the FTC said. But the study the ads refer to found a benefit from eating Frosted Mini-Wheats in only half the children studied, and only 11 percent of the children’s attention improved 20 percent, according to the FTC.

“We tell consumers that they should deal with trusted national brands,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. “So it’s especially important that America’s leading companies are more attentive to the truthfulness of their ads and don’t exaggerate the results of tests or research.”

Read the article…

The PR folks at Kellogg’s quickly issued a statement citing the company’s “long history of responsible advertising.”

The maximum fine Kellogg’s can expect – $18,000. That’s sure to deter a company that last year of $13,000,000,000 (that’s 13 billion dollars).

What you need to know:

Health claims on food packaging are used to promote sales. In many cases, the actual science behind the claims is questionable. But in many borderline cases, the government can’t do anything about it because it will get sued on the grounds of limiting a Constitutional right of Freedom of Speech.

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), passed in 1990, requires all packaged foods to bear standard nutrition labels including ingredient lists and nutrition data. The food ingredient panel, serving sizes, and terms such as “low fat” and “light” were standardized. As a concession to food manufacturers, who lobbied heavily during the legislation process, the government authorized some health claims for foods as part of the new law.

The health claims are regulated by the FDA, but there is enough leeway within the regulations to allow manufacturers, relying on very flimsy research, to post preposterous claims such as Kellogg’s.

What to do at the supermarket:

Do not be fooled into believing health claim on a box of cereal, or any other product for that matter. Take them for what they are -  marketing speak.

The real data is in the nutrition panel where you can find a full list of ingredients along with nutritional information. And even then you need to watch out for sneaky tricks such as minuscule serving sizes that make the calorie count seem low, trans-fat labeled as zero when it’s not, etc…

The simplest solution is to choose minimally processed foods, with short understandable ingredient lists. Staying away from certain aisles in the supermarket (beverages, snacks, frozen dinners) can help.

And, if you have questions, to ask Fooducate. feel free to drop us a line : blog at fooducate dot com

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It took a lawsuit, but Nestle and the Coca Cola Company, who jointly market Enviga Green Tea, need to stop claiming it reduces weight. From the LA Times:

Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal began an inquiry in 2007 seeking evidence that consumers who drink Enviga burn more calories than they take in. Blumenthal, who had said the claim might be “voodoo nutrition,” led the coalition of states and the District of Columbia in the settlement.

The companies agreed to re-label Enviga to add disclosures and disclaim weight-loss benefits, Blumenthal said Thursday. Any marketing of Enviga or a similar beverage that uses the terms “the calorie burner,” “negative calories” or “drink negative” must clearly disclose that the product doesn’t lead to weight loss without diet and exercise, he said.

“The Enviga lesson is that weight loss requires sound diet and exercise, not simply a concoction of caffeine and green tea,” Blumenthal said. “Enviga’s calorie-burning claims led to credibility loss more than weight loss.”

read the entire article…

What you need to know:

Health claims are regulated by the FDA, and must be based on sound science. In many cases the science is only partially established. In those cases, the health claims are qualified by a disclaimer (which usually appears in a much smaller font at the bottom of the package).

Enviga was introduced in 2006. The studies which led Nestle and Coke to the revelation that their caffeine based concoction will burn calories is based on a simple fact -  any caffeine product speeds up metabolism and creates a calorie burning effect for a limited time. The additional antioxidant EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), found in green tea, has not been found to “burn calories”.

It’s too bad Enviga doesn’t state the amount of caffeine in each can, but of course, that kind of information is not interesting to consumers, is it? Thankfully EnergyFiend has a list of all energy drinks and their caffeine content. Enviga boasts 100mg of caffeine in a 12 oz. can, roughly three times more than regualr Coca Cola, and 15% less than the Red Bull equivalent.

What to do at the supermarket:

Our usual advice is to avoid health claims, as they are merely marketing hype. Read the ingredient list and the nutrition label to get your facts. Watch your caffeine consumption by inquiring about the caffein levels in various drinks.

If you want to lose weight, limit your daily intake of calories, and exercise regularly. Processed foods, and even worse, liquid candies, will not be your savior.

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Edamame, Soy sauce, tofu, tempeh, cereal, bread, oils, etc… the descendants of the green soybean are found in thousands of supermarket items. For a relatively bitter, beany legume that until the 17th century was unkown in the western world, soy is a very prominent ingredient today. The reason, as bluntly stated by the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Since 1999, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a “heart healthy” labeling claim for certain soy-based foods, pantry staples like cereal and pasta have been “soy-ed up” and repackaged as health foods. Read the article…

So is soy as healthy as the health claims play it out to be? Read more…

From the Coca-Cola Company

The FDA issued a warning letter to the Coca-Cola Company regarding the labeling of Diet Coke Plus:

the product makes a nutrient content claim but does not meet the criteria to make the claim.

The product’s labeling describes the drink as “Diet Coke with Vitamins and Minerals.” On its website, Diet Coke Plus claims to have 10% of recommended daily intake of magnesium and zinc, and 15% of niacin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. The FDA has strict regulations as to what claims can be made and when:

Your product Diet Coke Plus is a carbonated beverage. The policy on fortification in 21 CFR 104.20(a) states that the FDA does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages. Additionally, the label of your product does not state the identity of a reference food and the percentage (or fraction) of the amount of the nutrient in the reference food by which the nutrient in the labeled food differs, as is required for relative claims such as “plus” under 101.13(j)(2). Therefore, the “plus” claim on the label of this product does not meet the requirements of 21 CFR 101.54(e)(1).

Read the full letter…

What you need to know:

The nutrient enriched drinks market is one of the fastest growing segments in the beverage industry. Think of calcium fortified orange juice, or vitamin waters and you’ll get the idea. Coca-Cola has taken this trend one step further by enriching a carbonated soft drink. Who knows, maybe Twinkies will also become a health food soon.

The FDA has created guidelines regarding health claims and nutrient claims that are fairly straightforward (for a government agency that is…). But there are always loopholes that smart marketers can exploit. For more information on health claims, check this post.

Regardless of regulation, it’s clear that consumers are responding to health claims, even if they seem a bit out of place on snacks and soft drinks. And that is where the FDA steps in to protect the consumer.

What’s interesting though, is that it took the FDA more than a year to send off the letter. Diet Coke Plus has been out on the market since early 2007! What was the FDA waiting for?

What to do at the supermarket:

If you want a fun tasting carbonated beverage with a low calorie count, a diet Coke may hit the spot. However, if you are looking for vitamins and minerals, do yourself a favor and leave the soft drink aisle. Get the good stuff either in a fruit juice, or better yet at the produce section.

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Kellogg's LiveBright Bar

Kellogg’s has started selling a new snack bar, LiveBright, fortified with stuff that’s good for our brain. From Kellogg’s PR machine:

We drink milk to promote strong bones. We eat more fiber to promote digestive health. We eat more whole grains, fiber and antioxidants for heart health. We exercise daily to stay active and increase agility. Americans are redefining the way we age by proactively taking charge of all aspects of our health and nutrition. Why should our approach to brain health be any different? Kellogg Company’s new Live Bright(TM) brain-health bars with 100mg of DHA Omega-3 help support brain health like calcium helps support bone health, offering another way consumers can take charge of their health….

What you need to know:

Live Bright Nutrition Panel

DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish such as salmon. Eggs are also  fortified with omega-3. While adding vitamins to snacks is certainly not harmful, let’s not kid ourselves that this is a health-food. In fact, take a look at the ingredient list and at the nutrition label. With 150 calories, 18% of the recommended Daily Value of saturated fat ,and 3 teaspoonfuls of sugars per bar, this is about as nutritious as a Twix bar. And can someone please count the number of ingredients in here? Andy Bellatti sums in up nicely in his blog, Small Bites -

If you’re going to reach for a DHA fortified food, I would rather you pick up DHA fortified eggs, which contain a superior nutritional profile to what is, essentially, a candy bar.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you’re getting a candy bar, choose the one that tastes best. (Twix anyone?). But limit yourself to a very small number of snacks per shopping trip. Don’t be fooled to looking for health products in the snack aisle of the supermarket.

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