FDA challenges Cheerios’ cholesterol claims

Those toasted Os may be crunchy. They may go great with milk. You could go so far as to say they’re part of a nutritious breakfast. But perhaps promoting them as a drug that can lower cholesterol is going too far.

That’s what the Food and Drug Administration says the familiar yellow box does.

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In a warning letter sent to the chairman of General Mills (maker of Cheerios) and posted on the agency’s Web site, the FDA says: “Based on claims made on your product’s label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug because the product is intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease.”

The agency takes special issue with, for example, this claim: “Did you know that in just six weeks Cheerios can reduce bad cholesterol by an average of 4 percent? Cheerios is … clinically proven to lower cholesterol. A clinical study showed that eating two 1 1/2 cup servings daily of Cheerios cereal reduced bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.”

What effect the letter will have remains to be seen.

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