Center for Science in the Public Interest Sues General Mills

How the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation describes General Mills:

“Over the past 12 years, the General Mills Foundation has provided $7.5 million dollars in awards. For the second year in a row, the General Mills Foundation committed to awarding fifty $20,000 grants. The $1 million in grants will provide important nutrition and physical activity programming to nonprofit organizations, reaching 57,652 children and youth across the nation. General Mills is committed to nourishing lives through health and wellness.”

Very well. Now let’s read some highlights from the latest press release of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is suing General Mills for misleading labeling and false advertising:

• “General Mills markets Cheerios Protein, a cereal ostensibly much higher in protein than its original Cheerios. But according to a class action lawsuit filed today, Cheerios Protein has just a smidgen more protein than original Cheerios. The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest and private law firms filed the suit charging that General Mills falsely markets Cheerios Protein as a high-protein alternative to Cheerios, when in fact the main thing that distinguishes Cheerios Protein from Cheerios is that the former has 17 times as much sugar.”

• “Cheerios Protein boasts on the front of its box that it has 11 grams of protein; four of those grams come from the milk, leaving seven grams from the cereal. Original Cheerios has three grams of protein. That four gram difference represents a small amount of protein— just five percent of the average American’s intake. But much of that difference is attributable to differences in serving sizes. Cheerios Protein has a bigger, 55-gram serving size, whereas Cheerios uses a 27-gram serving size. Two ounces of each cereal have just about the same amount of protein.”

• “Consumers who buy Cheerios Protein probably think they’re doing themselves a favor, and that this more expensive product is essentially a protein-fortified version of original Cheerios,” said CSPI litigation director Maia Kats. “In fact, the main thing that distinguishes Cheerios Protein from original Cheerios is the huge amount of sugar and extra calories. With 17 times as much sugar as original Cheerios, Cheerios Protein is actually more conducive to diabetes, weight gain, heart disease, and tooth decay.”

• “CSPI’s complaint also says that General Mills’ marketing on television and the Internet for Cheerios Protein is false and misleading. One ad featuring NASCAR driver Austin Dillon takes a child into a Cheerios Protein stock car and has him “fueled up” and racing off to school.”