Cheeri-Oh-No’s: Marketing Misleading Health Claims By: Latesha Richards Date: June 18, 2009

1. MARKETING OPINION BLOG Volume 2, Issue 3, June 2009
Cheerios is…clinically proven to lower cholesterol. A
Cheeri-Oh-No’s: clinical study showed that eating two 1.5 cup servings
daily of Cheerios cereal reduced bad cholesterol when
Marketing Misleading Health Claims eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and
cholesterol. (Reference:
By: Latesha Richards http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/fda-
warning-letter-general-mills)
Date: June 18, 2009
A
s a consumer and a huge fan of the
cereal, I will continue to purchase my
favorite Cheerios® brand on the
market, Honey Nut Cheerios®, because of its
great taste, crunchiness, easy to eat factor and its
role as part of an overall healthy diet rich in
whole-grains. But as a marketer, I take issue
with a healthy food being marketed as a drug that
you can access in the cereal aisle of every
supermarket and purchase for just about $5 a
For a long time, General Mills has maintained
box. General Mills crossed the line from
consistent advertising on the front panel of the
marketing a high-fiber/whole grain cereal to
cereal box that a serving of Cheerios® together
marketing an unapproved drug. Marketers
with exercise and a diet high in fruits, vegetables
understand that in a tough economy, advertising
and grains and low in saturated fat and
new information and findings are the keys to
cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.
winning in the game of marketing. When it
But the FDA has shed light on a claim made that
comes to health and educating the public, the
essentially makes a different argument about the
rules are the rules, and Cheerios® clearly
health benefits of the cereal. Let’s look more
violated them.
closely at the controversial claim that the FDA
Excerpt from General Mills’ Warning letter: took issue with. In the past 2 years, General
- “You can lower your cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks” Mills claimed that with Cheerios® “you can
lower your cholesterol by 4% in 6 weeks.”
“Did you know that in just 6 weeks Cheerios can
reduce bad cholesterol by an average of 4 percent? Firstly, there is nothing therapeutically different
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2. MARKETING OPINION BLOG Volume 2, Issue 3, June 2009
about Cheerios® compared to some other whole- heart health, why then is a cereal maker making
grain/fiber-based cereals currently on the market a claim that it can lower cholesterol? A couple
such as Quaker Oatmeal®, Post’s Shredded of questions come to mind when thinking about
Wheat®, or even Kellogg’s Healthy Choice Low this – is eating a cereal more effective at
Fat Granola®, just to name a few. They all lowering cholesterol than taking an approved
contain whole grain oats and soluble fiber, which drug for the disease, a healthy diet and regular
has been said to help lower blood LDL exercise? Would a sufferer of high cholesterol
cholesterol and thus reducing the risk of think that he/she would be cured of their illness
coronary heart disease. Unless you were eating by just eating a few bowls of Cheerios® every
high fat and cholesterol foods for a long time and day without a healthy diet and no exercise? That
then suddenly modified to a diet high in soluble claim would be quite misleading to a consumer
fiber/whole grains in the morning, any of those attempting to make a diet adjustment.
whole grain cereals would have likely exhibited
the same cholesterol-lowering effects.
Secondly, I ponder on the question of why
General Mills is likening Cheerios® to an FDA-
approved, clinically proven drug? The drug
makers of Lipitor® and Crestor® can make
cholesterol-lowering claims because they have
been authorized to do so. Directly beneath the
Crestor® health claims on its website, the drug
maker makes a disclaimer about cholesterol-
lowering medication: The FDA seemed to miss another version of the
“To get the greatest benefit from a cholesterol Cheerios® front panel label which claims
medication, you should still follow a diet low in “Cheerios® helps lower cholesterol 10% in one
saturated fats and cholesterol and exercise regularly.”
month.” Not only is this information misleading,
(Reference: www.crestor.com)
but it seems to contradict the reduction in
If a clinically proven, FDA-approved drug is cholesterol by 4% in 6 weeks statement under
making this claim about overall cholesterol and FDA scrutiny. General Mills seems to be
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3. MARKETING OPINION BLOG Volume 2, Issue 3, June 2009
hooked on making specific claims that that cause it to be a drug…” (Reference:
http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/fda-
Cheerios® itself is responsible for lowering
warning-letter-general-mills)
cholesterol when in fact whole grains and high
fiber as part of an overall healthy diet package I doubt that General Mills purposely
containing more fruits, vegetables, grains and intended to market Cheerios® as a drug,
lower saturated fat and cholesterol that makes the knowing that any clinical data provided to
difference. support such a therapeutic claim for a food
product would by no means be convincing to the
The second half of the claim states “…A clinical FDA. As probably the most known maker of
study showed that eating two 1.5 cup servings cereal, General Mills wanted to simply
daily of Cheerios® cereal reduced bad strengthen their position as a market leader in
cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in whole-grain cereals such as Cheerios®, Total®
saturated fat and cholesterol.” I agree with the and Wheaties® in order to gain competitive
FDA about the wording and placement of the edge. But it can’t only be about increased sales.
claim on the package design. The claim is It is like a TV advertisement pitching a more
prominently seen in a banner on the front panel superior level of crash safety of a certain brand
of the packaging written in big, bold font. The of car, over a competing automobile brand that
clinical study that the claim refers to is on the has been also rated superior in crash safety.
back of the Cheerios® box, which makes the Does this mean that I should not buy the
claim look a separate argument altogether. Did competing car because it appears to be less safe
General Mills realistically think that the claim than the car being advertised? No one is saying
would have gone unseen for much longer? Their that their clinical studies are flawed, not true or
warning letter was inevitable. that evidence to support their claim was missing.
The FDA concludes in the warning letter that: But this type of marketing Cheerios® was
involved in is misleading and is a lesson that all
“[This] claim indicate[s] that Cheerios is intended for
use in lowering cholesterol, and therefore in food makers, nutritional supplement, natural
preventing, mitigating and treating the disease product manufacturers and ingredient suppliers
hypercholesterolemia…[and] coronary heart disease
should learn from. At the end of the day this will
through lowering total and “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Another excerpt of the letter states that the FDA all come down to appropriate wording for the
“determined that [General Mills’] Cheerios Toasted cereal maker.
Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions
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4. MARKETING OPINION BLOG Volume 2, Issue 3, June 2009
General Mills needs to be consistent with
their messaging across their packaging and
website. They need to stick with the general
claim that diets rich in whole grain foods and
fiber-containing fruits and vegetables and low in
saturated fats and cholesterol can reduce the risk
of heart disease, and not single out whole grain
foods, specifically Cheerios® as the cause for
reduction. For more than 2 years, General Mills
was able to make had it pretty easy. Now we see
a new and more aggressive FDA. Thanks to
President Obama’s appointment of Margaret
Hamburg as the new head of FDA, industries
other than pharmaceuticals will be upheld to
their highest ethical standards. I wonder who
will be next on the FDA hot seat?
The author, Latesha Richards, is Marketing Coordinator for
utraceutical Medical Research, LLC. The statements made
above with regard to General Mills and Cheerios® does not
represent the beliefs or opinions of utraceutical Medical
Research, LLC.
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