The U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has proposed a new rule which will prevent popular cereal brands from labeling their products as “healthy.” According to The Intercept, the FDA proposed a rule that limits cereals to have no more than “2.5 grams of sugar per serving in order to be labeled as healthy. A restriction that food manufacturers claim would exclude over 95 percent of ready-to-eat cereals on the market.” This means that cereals such as Fruity Pebbles, Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, Raisin Bran and Special K will all have to stop marketing their cereals as healthy.
In response to these new changes, processed food companies are challenging the rule before it becomes finalized by the FDA. Among the most vocal food companies are the producers of high-sugar cereals who have long been criticized as being a driver of the obesity epidemic in America. The largest cereal producers in the country are General Mills, Kellogg’s, and Post Consumer Brands. These brands, along with a number of others have threatened to file a lawsuit, claiming that the guidelines are a violation of corporate free speech rights. The companies wrote that if the rule was “finalized in its present form” that it “would be open to legal challenge in that it violates the First Amendment by prohibiting truthful, non-misleading claims in an unjustified manner and also exceeds FDA’s statutory authority in several ways.”
The Washington Legal Foundation, a nonprofit group which filed a “letter in opposition in the form of a legal brief, laying out a broad case for a future court challenge against the FDA guidelines.” The Washington Legal Foundation argued that by passing these guidelines the FDA would be violating the commercial free speech of food companies. It’s also worth noting that while the group does not disclose its donors nor did they respond to a request for comment, the Washington Legal Foundation has financial ties to the Corn Refiners Association, a lobby group that represents the high fructose corn syrup industry.
The article also states how the joint filing from cereal manufacturers does not only argue with the labeling rules, but they also argue that “sugary cereals pose no health risks and are, in fact, beneficial to society and childhood health.” These cereal manufacturers even go as for as to say “cereal is one of the most affordable, nutrient dense breakfast choice a person – adults and children alike can make and using a wide range of options to suit different cultures, preferences, and taste”
It is clear that the cereal industry is grasping at straws in order to defend their right to say to Americans that their surgery cereals are good for them and “nutrient dense.” The article by The Intercept writes how the companies even goes as far as to say in a filing how the FDA should recognise the beneficial role of sugar stating “Sugar plays a role in foods beyond palatability it controls water activity, creates texture, adds bulk, and also contributes to flavor complexity.”
Despite what the Cereal industry will have you believe about sugar playing an important role in children’s diets it’s important to note how independent research finds that diets high in processed foods and sugar are linked to childhood obesity. While the FDA has not yet finalized the rule, they have offered companies three years to comply with the rule if it is passed.