Are We Going to Need a Prescription to Buy Cheerios?
by Derek Burreson
The FDA blasts the cereal maker, General Mills, because of their claim that Cheerios can “lower cholesterol 10 Percent in a month” which makes it a drug. The agency has been increasingly clamping down on many companies that connect their products with treating, curing or preventing diseases.
The advertising and labeling guidelines for natural products are very specific by the agency although it may seem that every health malady now falls under the guise of a “disease”. General Mills may not have thought that “lowering cholesterol 10 percent” fell under the category of a disease claim, but the health products industry has not been helped by companies that have made wild disease claims about their products that prompted the FDA to crack down.
More than likely the cereal maker will have to modify their message a little to come into alignment with the labeling laws and everything will be fine. No prescription needed to eat your daily bowl of Cheerios.
Source:
http://wcbstv.com/health/cheerios.general.mills.2.1007986.html