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FDA labels popular cereal as drug

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Popular US breakfast cereal Cheerios is a drug, at least if the claims made on the label by its manufacturer General Mills are anything to go by, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said.

"Based on claims made on your product's label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug," the FDA said in a letter to General Mills which was posted on the federal agency's website Tuesday.

Cheerios labels claim that eating the cereal can help lower bad cholesterol, a risk factor for coronary heart disease, by four percent in six weeks.

Citing a clinical study, the product labels also claim that eating two servings a day of Cheerios helps to reduce bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, the FDA letter says.

Those claims indicate that Cheerios -- said by General Mills to be the best-selling cereal in the United States -- is intended to be used to lower cholesterol and prevent, lessen or treat the disease hypercholesterolemia, and to treat and prevent coronary heart disease.

"Because of these intended uses, the product is a drug," the FDA concluded in its letter.

Not only that, but Cheerios is a new drug because it has not been "recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease," the FDA said.

That means General Mills may not legally market Cheerios unless it applies for approval as a new drug or changes the way it labels the small, doughnut-shaped cereal, the FDA said.

General Mills defended the claims on Cheerios packaging, saying in a statement that Cheerios' soluble fiber heart health claim has been FDA-approved for 12 years, and that its "lower your cholesterol four percent in six weeks" message has been featured on the box for more than two years.

The FDA's quibble is not about whether Cheerios cereal is good for you but over "how the Cheerios cholesterol-lowering information is presented on the Cheerios package and website," said General Mills.

"We look forward to discussing this with FDA and to reaching a resolution."

Meanwhile, the FDA warned in its letter that if General Mills fails to "correct the violations" on its labels, boxes of Cheerios could disappear from supermarket and wholesaler shelves around the United States and the company could face legal action.

According to General Mills, one in eight boxes of cereal sold in the United States is a box of Cheerios. The cereal debuted on the US market in 1941.
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http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090512/health/health_us_food_medicine
 
.....Eh? What is this? I NEED MY CHEERIOS FIX, DAMMIT!!

XD This is amusing.
 
We have a parrot that's addicted to Cheerios. This explains it all.
 
Great, more government being stupid and wasting our tax dollars on useless shit.
 
"H-hey dude, got any spare change, man?"

"Oh god, not another one of you Cheerio junkies! Get a job, ya bum!"

"NO WAIT PLEASE MAN I AIN'T HAD A BOWL IN DAYS COME BACK MAN"
 
TheMissingno. said:
Great, more government being stupid and wasting our tax dollars on useless shit.
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YEAH! How dare the FDA test and check what we consume! THOSE FUCKERS! I say, we should all write letters of complaint to them! That'll show them!

Also, I'm assuming there's a bit of a misunderstanding as to whether we're talking about medicinal drugs or recreational drugs?
 
It's a truth-in-advertising issue more than anything, but still a pretty valid point. A lot of claims are made about a lot of things which probably need better medical evaluation.
 
..What.

Seriously, it's not like anyone is being HARMED by eating Cheerios, so why is this even an issue?

True story: this is why the formula for Preparation H is different in the US. Women were using Preparation H as undereye cream (because one of the oils in it tightens the skin), and celebrity makeup artists were going on Oprah and the like talking about how great it was. The FDA said unless the makers of Preparation H denied this/put on warnings telling people not to use it for anything other than hemorrhoids, they'd have to get it approved as a cosmetic. Preparation H wasn't about to lose sales by doing this, so they just changed the formula for the US version so it no longer worked that way.

So now when makeup artists and celebrities talk about Preparation H being useful as an undereye cream, they're probably importing it from Canada or Mexico.


Back on topic.. yeah, the FDA needs to STFU and worry about H1N1, not this shit.
 
I agree that Cheerios shouldn't be on a priority list at all, but I just got all up in arms because I (probably mistakenly) had the impression that TheMissingno had meant tax money was being wasted with FDA testing. I don't know. Yeah, I made a dumbass mistake, so everyone feel free to bite my head off for it. I can't blame anyone.

Anywho...
 
Insana Dana said:
^ Win. Hence the sig.
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Haha, thanks Dana! :D

Also, by the FDA's logic...shouldn't exercise be classed as a drug? Last time I checked, exercise was a great way to reduce cholestorol and help prevent heart problems...

O NOEZ THIS MEANZ I DID DRUGS EARLIER WELL WHOOPS OFF TO REHAB FOR ME LOLOL
 
Ralli said:
I agree that Cheerios shouldn't be on a priority list at all, but I just got all up in arms because I (probably mistakenly) had the impression that TheMissingno had meant tax money was being wasted with FDA testing. I don't know. Yeah, I made a dumbass mistake, so everyone feel free to bite my head off for it. I can't blame anyone.

Anywho...
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No worries.
 
Neku, the issue isn't if people are being harmed. Obviously, Cheerios are perfectly safe. The primary problem arises if people think they're being helped, but aren't--the definition of a snake-oil medicine.
 
This is stupid. There's plenty of 'questionable' weight-loss drugs and other weird 'miracle drugs' out there that probably need much more investigation then cherrios, of all things.

I always figured the 'lower cholesterol' argument was along the same lines as the 'increase your immune system!' claim by food products with lots of antioxidants. What a waste of our money, and in these economic times too >__>
 
evkl said:
Neku, the issue isn't if people are being harmed. Obviously, Cheerios are perfectly safe. The primary problem arises if people think they're being helped, but aren't--the definition of a snake-oil medicine.
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Exactly. There are probably a LOT of people who buy Cheerios based on the simple fact that they've been told it will help their cholesterol (in today's "health-conscious" climate...that's a fairly huge deal). With that being proved as bullshit (or...unconfirmed), people have basically just wasted their cash...and on a cereal that's not loaded with sugar. It's shameful, really.

If only Cap'n Crunch were alive to see this...
 
XD
That is amazing. That piece of news made my day right there.
 
GrnMarvl13 said:
Exactly. There are probably a LOT of people who buy Cheerios based on the simple fact that they've been told it will help their cholesterol (in today's "health-conscious" climate...that's a fairly huge deal). With that being proved as bullshit (or...unconfirmed), people have basically just wasted their cash...and on a cereal that's not loaded with sugar. It's shameful, really.

If only Cap'n Crunch were alive to see this...
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What if it actually does help people's cholesterol? Then General Mills is fucked anyway now because they may either have to stop telling people that it will lower their cholesterol, or sell it as a drug. I see no reason to believe that it doesn't lower cholesterol; in fact I'm sure that many foods help lower cholesterol, they just don't necessarily advertise it.
 
This is hilarious XD My Cheerios, may be addicting >.> Frankly, I don't eat Cheerios for the health benefits, I like the taste lolXD
 
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