According to the FDA These Seven Cereals are No Longer Considered Healthy
With the Food and Drug Administration’s proposal redefining what foods are labeled healthy, it’s looking like kids these days are going to have a less sugary childhood. Possibly the most popular breakfast staples for kids, cereal is set to be impacted by the new federal guidelines. That means that many of the brands we thought were healthy growing up, no longer fall under that category.
The new healthy was introduced at this year’s White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, where the FDA expressed its goal of ensuring the term is consistent with current nutrition science.
“More than 80% of people in the U.S. aren’t eating enough vegetables, fruit and dairy. And most people consume too much added sugars, saturated fat and sodium,” a press announcement stated.
To illustrate the new standards, cereal was used as an example. “[For example], a cereal would need to contain ¾ ounces of whole grains and contain no more than 1 gram of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium and 2.5 grams of added sugars.” According to CNBC, under the FDA’s new criteria, these seven cereals no longer quality as healthy:
- Raisin Bran (9 grams of added sugars)
- Honey Nut Cheerios (12 grams of added sugars)
- Corn Flakes (300 milligrams of sodium; 4 grams of added sugars)
- Honey Bunches of Oats, Honey Roasted (8 grams of added sugars)
- Frosted Mini Wheats (12 grams of added sugars)
- Life (8 grams of added sugars)
- Special K (270 milligrams of sodium; 4 grams of added sugars)
Sadly, or maybe thankfully, many of our favorite go-to “healthy” cereals were never that healthy to begin with. It’s actually surprising Corn Flakes and Special K didn’t pass the healthy test, while the others are less surprising. Nevertheless, I’ll always have fond memories of my personal favorite, Honey Bunches of Oats.
