Most children’s cereals do not meet proposed federal guidelines for food marketed to kids, according to a report from Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research and advocacy organization.
Of 84 popular cereals, only 20 met all criteria for sugar, sodium, saturated and trans fat, and whole-grain content proposed earlier this year by the Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children, which was convened by Congress to address the childhood obesity epidemic.
The EWG report focused on sugar content and found that two-thirds of the cereals studied contained more sugar than would be allowed under the federal recommendations — a maximum of 13 grams per 50 to 55 grams of cereal, equal to 24% to 26% sugar by weight.
The 10 cereals with the highest sugar content (by percentage weight) are:
- Kellogg’s Honey Smacks (55.6%)
- Post Golden Crisp (51.9%)
- Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow (48.3%)
- Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries (46.9%)
- Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Original (44.4%)
- Quaker Oats Oh!s (44.4%)
- Kellogg’s Smorz (43.3%)
- Kellogg’s Apple Jacks (42.9%)
- Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries (42.3%)
- Kellogg’s Froot Loops Original (41.4%)
