Kellogg to settle claims that cereal ads misled

Published 5:00 am Sunday, April 26, 2009

Cereal giant Kellogg Co. has agreed to settle claims that the Grand Rapids, Mich., company falsely advertised the benefits of eating Frosted Mini-Wheats, including that children who ate the cereal received a 20 percent boost in attentiveness compared with children who skipped breakfast.

The Federal Trade Commission decided the claim was a stretch. “According to the clinical study referred to in Kellogg’s advertising, only about half the children who ate Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast showed any improvement in attentiveness, and only about one in nine improved by 20 percent or more,” the FTC said in a statement announcing the settlement last week.

The FTC said that the proposed settlement with Kellogg bars the company from making “deceptive or misleading cognitive health claims.” Kellogg admitted no wrongdoing.

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