Examining A Cheerios Box Deconstructing the misleading messages on everyone’s favourite cereal

The Package

Whole Grain Check “Look for this symbol on all of our brands” So, this is a symbol created by General Mills to put on their products It is nothing more than a corporate logo

Whole Grain Check 7 out of 10 Canadians Report Not Getting Enough Whole Grain “Whole grain packs a powerful nutrition punch. The fibre, vitamins & minerals and phyonutrients all contribute to healthy eating.”

Say What? 69% reported that they ate less than 3 servings of whole grains on the previous day (Source: Ipsos- Reid Canada (December 2004)) BUT... The Canada Food Guide suggests 6-10 servings of whole grains per day!! 3 servings per day was the old Canada Food Guide, circa 1982

Site is mostly about lowering cholesterol. Here is the message about whole grain oats: – 3 grams of soluble fibre daily from whole grain oat foods, like original Cheerios* and Honey Nut Cheerios* cereal, as a part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Original Cheerios* cereal provides 1 gram per serving; Honey Nut Cheerios* cereal provides 0.75 gram per serving.

So whole grain oats are necessary for fibre This fibre may reduce the chance of heart disease Cheerios provide 1g or less per serving (30% as per box) For comparison, a similar serving of strawberries provides 4 times more fibre than a bowl of Cheerios Fruit g fibre Pear (1 medium) 5.0 Dates (3 fruits) 4.8 Raspberries (½ cup) 4.2 Strawberries (1 cup) 3.9 Mango (1 medium) 3.7 Source: Alberta Health ServicesAlberta Health Services

Health Check Symbol Presumably healthy sign Heart & Stroke Foundation Seems like an independent endorsement of Cheerios

A closer look... Reviewed to meet the criteria of the Health Check program (who sets those standards?) Based on the recommendations in the Canada Food Guide A fee is paid by each participating company

healthcheck.org Developed by Heart & Stroke Foundation based on Canada Food Guide Evaluates products based on fat, fibre, sodium, and sugar No evaluation of protein, carbohydrate, glycemic index or total calories Voluntary program, where if approved a company pays a “modest annual fee to help cover the costs of operating the program and developing tools to educate Canadians on healthy eating” Licensing fee link on website was under construction Licensing fee

Health Check Marketing

Goodness Corner Another General Mills creation (see *) – Whole Grain – Fibre – Low Fat – 1 g of sugar – 110 calories

Goodness Corner As previously mentioned, whole grain and fibre are linked together 110 calories (170 with milk) is enough to fuel me through a 1 mile run (7mins) or 11mins with the milk calorie-burn-calculator.aspx#