Following a second action in 12 months by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for making false health claims about a product, the leading cereal maker Kellogg has agreed to new advertising restrictions.

In a statement released on 3 June, the FTC said that an investigation of advertising claims that Rice Krispies benefits children’s immunity led to them issuing a stronger order against Kellogg.

They said the company has agreed to expand a settlement order reached last year after the Commission alleged that the cereal maker had falsely claimed there was clinical evidence that its Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal improved children’s attentiveness by nearly 20 per cent.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said they expected more from a “great American company” than making “dubious claims” about its products improving children’s health, “not once, but twice”.

“Next time, Kellogg needs to stop and think twice about the claims it’s making before rolling out a new ad campaign, so parents can make the best choices for their children,” said Leibowitz.

The FTC said that around the time the company had agreed to stop making false health claims in its cereal ads, it started a new campaign promoting the health benefits of Rice Krispies, with packaging carrying the message that the cereal “now helps support your child’s immunity”, with “25 per cent Daily Value of Antioxidants and Nutrients – Vitamins A, B, C, and E”.

And also on the back of the Rice Krispie’s cereal box was the statement “Kellogg’s Rice Krispies has been improved to include antioxidants and nutrients that your family needs to help them stay healthy”, said the FTC.

Following the first investigation into Mini-Wheats, the company was barred from making untrue and unsubstantiated claims that any cereal or any morning food or snack food conferred “benefits to cognitive health, process, or function”.

Under the new expanded order, Kellogg is banned from making claims about any health benefit of any food unless they are backed by scientific evidence and do not mislead.

The five-member Commission voted unanimously to modify the 2009 settlement order.

The FTC pointed out that agreeing to a settlement order does not constitute an admission of a law violation: however, when a consent order is issued on a final basis it carries the force of law following which violation can result in a civic fine.

Commissioner Julie Brill and Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a separate joint statement:

“As a trusted, long-established company with a presence in millions of American homes, Kellogg must not shirk its responsibility to do the right thing when it advertises the food we feed our children.”

Source: FTC.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD