General Mills’ Issues Statement on Cheerios Labeling

05/12/2009

General Mills issued the following statement today in response to the U.S. FDA warning letter regarding cholesterol-lowering messaging on Cheerios:

"Cheerios’ soluble fiber heart health claim has been FDA-approved for 12 years, and Cheerios’ ‘lower your cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks’ message has been featured on the box for more than two years.  The science is not in question.  The scientific body of evidence supporting the heart health claim was the basis for FDA’s approval of the claim, and the clinical study supporting Cheerios’ cholesterol-lowering benefit is very strong.  The FDA is interested in how the Cheerios cholesterol-lowering information is presented on the Cheerios package and website.  We are in dialog with FDA, and we look forward to reaching a resolution."