JOIN THE RACE

Sign in to save scores, appear on leaderboards and track personal bests.

Home› Food Receipts› Kashi Cereal vs Cheerios

Kashi Cereal VS Cheerios

Kashi Cereal Cheerios
Verdict DROP IT BUY IT
The Reality A class-action lawsuit filed in US District Court for the Southern District of California identified a range of synthetic and artificial ingredients present in products carrying the 'All Natural' or 'Nothing Artificial' label, including pyridoxine hydrochloride, calcium pantothenate, hexane-processed soy ingredients, ascorbic acid, glycerin, and sodium phosphate. Kellogg settled the suit for $5 million in 2014, agreeing to drop the 'All Natural' and 'Nothing Artificial' claims from the affected products and to reformulate or relabel them nationally, with California purchasers eligible for $0.50 per product with proof of purchase. On May 5, 2009, the FDA sent General Mills a formal warning letter finding these specific, quantified claims made Cheerios an unapproved new drug under federal law, since companies are legally barred from quantifying a specific percentage health benefit the way General Mills had. Critically, the underlying science itself wasn't in dispute: Cheerios' general soluble-fiber cholesterol-lowering claim had already been an FDA-authorized qualified health claim for 12 years at that point, and General Mills maintained the clinical study behind the 4% figure was genuinely strong. The issue the FDA flagged was specifically the precise quantification ('4% in 6 weeks'), not the broader, already-approved claim that whole-grain oat soluble fiber can help reduce cholesterol as part of a diet low in saturated fat.
SHORT ANSWER

Kashi Cereal: Kellogg paid $5 million in 2014 to settle a class-action lawsuit and agreed to drop 'All Natural' and 'Nothing Artificial' labeling from Kashi products after plaintiffs identified specific synthetic ingredients, including pyridoxine hydrochloride and hexane-processed soy, actually present in them.

Cheerios: Cheerios' general claim that whole-grain oat soluble fiber can help lower cholesterol is a legitimate, FDA-authorized health claim with real science behind it -- but General Mills' specific 2009 quantified claim ('4% in 6 weeks') crossed into illegal, unapproved drug-claim territory and drew a formal FDA warning letter.