US-based General Mills is being sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for alleged misleading labeling as well as false advertising.
In its promotional campaign, General Mills has stated that its Cheerios Protein is higher in protein than the earlier version.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court in Northern California, the CSPI claims that while there is only a slight improvement in protein, the sugar content remains high, thereby making the product less healthy.
The lawsuit further states that Cheerios Protein is claimed to have 17 times as much sugar per serving compared to regular Cheerios, which has not been highlighted by the company.
General Mills is "falsely and misleadingly" marketing Cheerios Protein as a "high protein, healthful alternative" to Cheerios, claims the health group in the lawsuit.
In a statement, the non-profit consumer advocacy group said: "Cheerios Protein boasts on the front of its box that it has 11 grams of protein; four of those grams come from the milk, leaving seven grams from the cereal. Original Cheerios has three grams of protein.
"That four gram difference represents a small amount of protein -- just five percent of the average American's intake. But much of that difference is attributable to differences in serving sizes. Cheerios Protein has a bigger, 55-gram serving size, whereas Cheerios uses a 27-gram serving size. Two ounces of each cereal have just about the same amount of protein."
It continued: "The far larger nutritional difference between Cheerios Protein and Cheerios is sugar. A 1? cup serving of Cheerios Protein contains 17 times as much sugar as original Cheerios, which only has one gram of sugar per one-cup serving. In fact, Cheerios Protein Oats & Honey has eight forms of added sugars, including brown sugar, sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, molasses, caramel (containing sugar and caramelized sugar syrup), honey, and refiner's syrup."
CSPI litigation director Maia Kats said: "Cheerios Protein is actually more conducive to diabetes, weight gain, heart disease, andtooth decay."
General Mills was quoted by US news station ABC News as stating, "Cheerios Protein is accurately labeled. An equal amount of Cheerios Protein contains 18 percent more protein than regular Cheerios."
Image: Cheerios Protein's positioning is misleading, claims health group. Photo: courtesy of PRNewsFoto/Cheerios.
