Cheerios = drugs !!

[Kanada Kev]

Wow, I got "hooked" when I was very young. Friggin' Cheerios can now be called a gateway drug?

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090512/health/health_us_food_medicine

Popular cereal is a drug, US food watchdog says

WASHINGTON (AFP) - 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.

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"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.

[TheAlphaNerd]

Sounds like someone wants some extra cash... and someone else wants some extra publicity

[Northern Wish]

They make me fart, alot.....

[bouche]

cheerios competes directly with some drug somewhere, as do fruits vegetables, water, exercise, the list goes on.

FDA is going to ban all that shit soon.

[phishtaper]

although this one got a lot of press because its funny, these sorts of warnings are not uncommon. coke, pepsi, kellogs, etc. get them too. the FDA just doesn't want food manufacturers to make specific health claims about their products. recently, the vitamin and mineral enriched bottled water industry has been a major thorn in the side of the FDA because of all the bullshit they print on their labels and websites.

the public health agency of canada, food inspection agency and health canada itself essentially do the same thing here and personally, I appreciate the fact that someone is taking steps to protect consumers from false claims.

[jayr]

Nothing is "good" for you unless it has been created in a lab somewhere......that's the way nature intended it to be, everybody knows that.

[SaggyBalls]

Cheerios left me wanting more - their rich toasted scent, following with empty, unsatisfying air.

The sugary milk was the centerpiece of a bowl of cheerios.

I have never purchased a single box of that crap.

Nice looking box of great smelling cereal.