Food

Some Cereals Contain More Than 50% Sugar

Consumer Reports Ranks Nutrition Of Children's Breakfast Cereal

(WBZ) A new review of the nutrition in breakfast cereals found an alarming amount of sugar in several cereals marketed to children. The ratings from Consumer Reports looked specifically at 27 cereals marketed to children, and based their rankings on box labels.

Post Golden Crisp and Kellogg's Honey Smacks were found to contain more than 50 percent sugar. Several others were found to contain at least 40 percent sugar including Kellogg's Corn Pops, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks and Cap'N Crunch.

On the flip-side, the Consumer Reports rankings rated four children's cereals as very good, meaning they are low in sugar, contain fiber, are high in iron and a good source of calcium. Cheerios from General Mills rated the best, with one gram of sugar per serving and three grams of fiber. Kix, Quaker Oats 'Life' and Honey Nut Cheerios also earned a rating of Very Good.

Consumer Reports cautions parents to watch serving sizes – which by manufacturer measurements range from ¾ of a cup to 1 ¼ cup. Children typically pour more than this into their bowl.

Consumer Reports ratings:
(Complete nutrional breakdown by subscription only on ConsumerReports.org)

Very Good
Cheerios
Kix
Life
Honey Nut Cheerios

Good
Frosted Mini Wheats
Frosted Flakes Gold
Cookie Crisp
Golden Grahams
Lucky Charms
Cocoa Puffs
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Trix
Reese's Puffs
Fruity Pebbles
Honey-Comb
Cocoa Pebbles
Frosted Flakes
Cocoa Krispies
Frosted Flakes Reduced Sugar

Fair
Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch
Cap'n Crunch
Rice Krispies
Apple Jacks
Froot Loops
Golden Crisp
Honey Smacks
Corn Pops

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