General Mills Sued For Name Of 'Cheerios Protein' Product
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A food watchdog group is suing General Mills for using misleading packaging on its "Cheerios Protein" product.
The Star Tribune reports that the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued the food company because the cereal does not contain that much more protein than regular cheerios.
"Rather than protein, the principal ingredient that distinguishes Cheerios Protein from Cheerios is sugar," The Star Tribune reported CSPI stating in the suit.
In a press release, General Mills said that while they don't normally respond to allegations such as these they wanted to state that the allegations were incorrect. The press release from the company stated that Cheerios Protein has 18 more grams of protein than regular Cheerios.
The newspaper article states that CSPI said the extra protein comes from the larger serving size listed for Cheerios Protein over regular Cheerios – 55 grams versus 28 grams – not actual protein.
General Mills stated the 18 grams accounted for the increased serving size.