Report on Cereal marketing

[dieseltaylor]

I thought this interesting and this is an excerpt from the wide ranging 87 page report here:

http://www.cerealfacts.org/media/Cereal_FACTS_Report.pdf

Nutrition quality

In spite of their pledges to reduce unhealthy marketing to

children, the large cereal companies continue to target

children with their least healthy products. Child cereals

contain 85% more sugar, 65% less fiber and 60% more

sodium when compared to adult cereals. In fact, not one

cereal that is marketed directly to children in the United

States would be allowed to advertise to children on television

in the United Kingdom. Only one, Cascadian Farm Clifford

Crunch, would be eligible to be included in cereals offered

through the USDA Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

program. In addition, 42% contain potentially harmful

artificial food dyes.

All companies do have more nutritious cereals in their

portfolios, but these cereals are marketed only to adults.

Even the more nutritious cereals promoted for child

consumption (e.g., Kellogg Mini-Wheats, General Mills Kix

and Quaker Life) are marketed to parents, not to children. In

contrast, the majority of child and family cereals offered by

the smaller companies (e.g., Kashi Mighty Bites, Barbara’s

Bakery Puffins and Annie’s Bunnies) have significantly less

sugar, more fiber and no food dyes. Clearly, children will eat

these more nutritious options.

We also found that stated efforts by the larger cereal

companies to improve the nutrition quality of their children’s

cereals have been inadequate. Although they have

reformulated approximately two-thirds of their child and

family products, these improvements have been minimal; in

most cases, the equivalent of reducing sugar content from

3 ½ tsp to 3 tsp per serving. New cereal introductions and

cereal brand extensions may provide a better indicator of

companies’ commitment to improve the nutrition quality of

their product lines; however, these efforts again disappoint.

Nutrition scores for new products introduced within the past

two years indicate that the major cereal companies have not

attempted to improve the nutrition quality of their product

portfolio and thus expect to continue the status quo going

forward.

If I read it aright in Appendix B there is a cereal that is 41% sugar! The only caveat I have is the references to some products not being shown on UK TV - I think they may be wrong.

[Tero]

The "healthier" adult products taste like cardboard (or worse). At least my kinds will not toutch them unless they are laced with copious amount of sugar or other substances which give them taste.

[YankeeDog]

The trick is to never get your kids hooked on the sugary product in the first place. When you eat foods high in processed sugar on a regular basis, it actually changes the way you taste food -- basically, your senses acclimate to the sweet taste, and it requires more and more sugar to perceive the same level of sweetness. In my opinion, it's pretty clear that the big food companies know this, and are using high processed sugar as a tool hook customers at an early age.

My parents (who, granted, had a huge knowledge advantage over most parents in that they are both Pediatricians), strictly forbade most sugary foods and drinks from our regular diet. It wasn't a total prohibition; we could have a piece of candy or glass of soda now and then as a special treat. But we certainly weren't allowed to eat foods like sugary cereals on a regular basis. It was Cheerios and other low-sugar cereals for us.

Now, we saw the TV ads all the other kids saw, and craved Choco-coated Sugar Bombs just like all of our friends. Kudos to my mother for ignoring our tantrums in the Supermarket Cereal aisle... But her perseverance paid off. Inevitably, I got my hands on the processed sugar cereals (at friends' house, etc.), and discovered I didn't like them at all -- to my taste, the cereals my friends ate were overpoweringly sweet, so much so that it actually hurt my gums to eat them. I went back to my Cheerios pretty quickly of my own volition.

I realize now that my parents deserve a lot of credit for the fact that I now eat a pretty healthy diet, and have no problem maintaining a healthy weight; their early perseverance in teaching good eating habits makes it second nature for me to eat the right things, in proper proportion.

But anyway... I agree with the article's main thrust; the marketing campaigns targeted at kids, pushing high-sugar, processed products are not helping parents at all. Breakfast cereals is one of the most obvious examples, but there are others. Adding a few vitamins to an otherwise overprocessed, high-sugar food does not make it "part of a healthy complete breakfast."

[Stalins Organ]

Yep - my kids eat a cereal with 2.8% sugar, and won't touch the sugary stuff I eat!

[Other Means]

Mrs Means makes her own granola. Lovely stuff. Sets me right up for my bacon butties.

[JonS]

Mine get weetbix and porridge.

Although, granted, they often have fruit and/or yoghurt to go with it.

[Wilhammer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/business/05smart.html

"

Eileen T. Kennedy, president of the Smart Choices board and the dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said the program’s criteria were based on government dietary guidelines and widely accepted nutritional standards.

She said the program was also influenced by research into consumer behavior. That research showed that, while shoppers wanted more information, they did not want to hear negative messages or feel their choices were being dictated to them.

“The checkmark means the food item is a ‘better for you’ product, as opposed to having an x on it saying ‘Don’t eat this,’ ” Dr. Kennedy said. “Consumers are smart enough to deduce that if it doesn’t have the checkmark, by implication it’s not a ‘better for you’ product. They want to have a choice. They don’t want to be told ‘You must do this.’ ”"

[Affentitten]

The sweetest things my ones get are Cheerios. Mainly its weetbix and sometimes one of those flakey/fruity ones like Just Right. The battle we have in our house is with the French element and the need to have something chocolate at breakfast!

[dieseltaylor]

Wilhammer linky

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, was part of a panel that helped devise the Smart Choices nutritional criteria, until he quit last September. He said the panel was dominated by members of the food industry, which skewed its decisions.

“It was paid for by industry and when industry put down its foot and said this is what we’re doing, that was it, end of story,” he said. Dr. Kennedy and Dr. Clark, who were both on the panel, said industry members had not controlled the results.

,,,,, yeah right

Nutritionists questioned other foods given the Smart Choices label. The program gives the seal to both regular and light mayonnaise, which could lead consumers to think they are both equally healthy. It also allows frozen meals and packaged sandwiches to have up to 600 milligrams of sodium, a quarter of the recommended daily maximum intake.

“The object of this is to make highly processed foods appear as healthful as unprocessed foods, which they are not,” said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University.

[dumrox]

It's funny that the article mentioned Puffins as an example of a more nutritious cereal that kids will eat. We had it at our house recently and I can state that it was one of the worst tasting sweetened cereals I've ever had. My 5 and 2 year old sons wouldn't eat them and they'll both happily eat regular old Cheerios. Since I'm a cheapskate who never throws anything away, I ended up eating them. The Puffins were so hard on the outside it was like biting through an exoskeleton. Only the outer crust was sweetened, so once you crunched them, all flavor was gone. We don't get the super sweetened cereals. Something like frosted mini wheats or honey nut cheerios is about as sweet as we get, but I could make a list of 20-30 slightly sweetened cereals I'd pick ahead of those Puffins.

The sugariest British cereal is just over 38% sugar ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/apr/29/breakfast-cereal-survey-health-food ), so the worst of the bunch in the US is slightly worse than the same in the UK. Not a huge difference, though.

[dieseltaylor]

Porridge is the best answer. A tiny bit of salt and a few raisins thrown in to give the sensation of sweetness. Obviously some milk for the calcium ..... yummy, very cheap, and requiring the body to do serious digestion rather than the pre-processed cereals.

http://www.goldenspurtle.com/

for recipes etc. The current World Champion is an American

Health Porridge - Health Porridge is made from oats which is one of the most natural and healthiest foods around. Plain porridge oats and oatmeal are 100% natural with no added sugar, salt of additives.

They are naturally low in calories too - an average bowl of porridge made with water is said to be only 171 calories.

Health experts have shown that oats have many health benefits.

Oats have a high content of complex carbohydrates and soluble fibre so they release energy slowly. A bowl of porridge for breakfast should provide the body with all the energy the body needs until lunch time.

Oats can also help in lowering cholesterol which may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Oats act as sponges, soaking up cholesterol and carrying it out of the bloodstream.

Oats contain one of the highest levels of soluble fibre in any cereal - essential for healthy digestion and also said to help maintain a healthy heart when eaten as part of a low fat diet.

Oats contain a number of necessary vitamins while it is also said that oats can help reduce diabetes.

Porridge oats and oatmeal are as versatile as they are healthy and can be enjoyed in a wide variety of sweet and savoury dishes and healthy bakes as well for cooking up a first class bowl of porridge.

also

http://www.scottishrecipes.co.uk/porridge-recipes.htm

[MeatEtr]

Now many years later, I can confess how bad I got for my morning sugar rush. I loved Cocoa Pebbles mostly because it turned the milk essentially into chocolate milk, mmm good. But it wasn't good enough so I started using Nestle choco milk and just skip the regular milk. So in the end I got a super dose of choco milk. Talk about being jacked up going to school, lol.

Hey, check this one out, actual iron filings in cereal.

Wow, this ain't the kind of iron people need, buyer beware.

[dumrox]

diesel,

If nothing else, you made me look up exactly what "porridge" is. I haven't seen anything sold in the US called porridge. Looks like it's any grain that's boiled until soft and served hot.

Oatmeal's pretty popular. We've got unsweetened oatmeal, but I find it needs some dressing up (maple syrup is good) and flavored instant oatmeals which, having just checked the nutrition labels, seem to be about 33% sugar.

I guess grits would count as a porridge. My wife and kids love them. The kids like them with some cheese melted in. Are grits popular in the UK?

[Stalins Organ]

Porridge ~ oatmeal or rolled oats in these parts

[dieseltaylor]

Wiki is interesting about grits:

Dry grits can be used to kill ants. Simply put instant grits around ant dirt mound on a sunny day. The grits are eaten by ant and expand inside the ant's gut, which eventually blows up.[7] It can kill the ant colony in 48 hours.[8]

I doubt you can buy grits in the UK without finding a very specialist shop. Its good to see they remain popular in the States - well at least some of them. Porridge would be assumed to be oats in the UK. I think I will go and have some now : )

The 5.30 am breakfast was two slices of toats which is not really enough.!

[Wilhammer]

Grits - love them.

My wife makes a killer 'Shrimp and Grits' dish - very nice.

Steam some shrimp, spiced the way you like.

Make some grits - add some butter.

Mix the Shrimp with the Grits.

Add Black Beans is you so desire.

----------

so, what did I eat for breakfast?

Could not have been good - Cinnamon Chex with a Banana and 2% milk - Coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 and 'pink stuff'.

My favorite breakfast is 2 Eggs, over easy, Grits and toast.

[Stalins Organ]

I had grits in hte US a few years back - and a more tasteless bland soup I have never experienced.

I can see why people liek various flavours....because they have none themselves!!

Sort of like porridge ...only watery!

[YankeeDog]

Properly prepared grits should not be watery at all, but rather creamy and thick. You probably had so-called "quick grits," which are a poor shadow of their properly prepared, slow-cooked inspiration.

It is true that, in and of themselves, they don't have a lot of flavor. In my opinion, they are best viewed as a base for other flavors. Excellent with a bit of bacon grease drizzled in, for example.