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Home› Food Receipts› Red Bull vs Cheerios

Red Bull VS Cheerios

Red Bull Cheerios
Verdict DROP IT BUY IT
The Reality A 2014 class-action lawsuit, filed by plaintiff Benjamin Careathers, alleged these specific performance claims -- improved concentration and reaction speed -- were false advertising, not adequately supported by science. Red Bull settled in August 2014, agreeing to pay more than $13 million and offering any US consumer who purchased Red Bull between January 1, 2002, and October 3, 2014, a choice of $10 cash or $15 worth of Red Bull products. Red Bull did not admit wrongdoing, maintaining its marketing and labeling 'have always been truthful and accurate,' and said it settled to avoid the cost and distraction of continued litigation. 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

Red Bull: Red Bull settled a 2014 class-action lawsuit for more than $13 million over claims that the drink improves concentration and reaction speed, offering every US purchaser since 2002 a payout, though the company did not admit the underlying claims were false.

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.