# Scandalous Cereals FDA Scolds Cheerios for Hyperbolic Ad Claims By Rose Nazarali | Published 2009-05-13 | Lifestyle Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cheerios References: [google](http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=cheerios&date=2009-5-13&sa=X) & [necn](http://www.necn.com/Boston/Health/2009/05/13/FDA-scolds-maker-of-Cheerios/1242210432.html) The FDA has issued Cheerios a warning for a drug marketing violation. The Cheerios ad says that in six weeks, “Cheerios could help lower your cholesterol 4%.” By making this type of claim, however, the FDA says Cheerios becomes a drug and thereby needs approval before advertising the results. General Mills, who makes Cheerios, says they were approved as a drug several years ago; however, the FDA maintains that they were not. I say stock up on your Cheerios stash while you can--with the FDA mad at them, you never know what could happen! ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.4/10 - Popularity: 12% | Activity: 22% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Lifestyle](https://www.trendhunter.com/lifestyle) > [Health](https://www.trendhunter.com/health) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Regulatory Compliant Advertising:** There is a rising need for regulatory compliant advertising in the food industry to avoid legal consequences. - **Functional Foods Marketing:** The trend of marketing functional foods as a way to improve health and avoid chronic diseases continues to be popular in the food industry. - **Nutrition Science Advancement:** There is a growing trend of investing in advancing nutrition science to bring credibility to food products that claim health benefits. ### Who This Affects Most - **Food Manufacturing:** Food manufacturing companies need to invest in nutrition science research to develop functional foods and market them in compliance with regulations. - **Healthcare:** The healthcare industry needs to collaborate with food companies to advance nutrition science research and development of products that address chronic diseases. - **Legal:** The legal industry will continue to work with food companies to identify legal risks of making advertising claims and to ensure regulatory compliance. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Extra-Fortified Breakfast Cereals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/general-mills-big-g-cereals.md) - [Nutrition-Focused Cereal Branding](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cheerios-range.md) - [Multi-Grain Cereal Granolas](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cheerios-granola.md) - [Nutrient-Packed Veggie Cereals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cheerios-veggie-blends.md) - [Personalized Cereal Boxes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cheerios-name-boxes.md) - [Nutty Fiber-Rich Cereals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/maple-cinnamon-cheerios-hearty-nut-medley.md) - [Celebratory Whole Grain Cereals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/confetti-cheerios.md) - [Protein-Enriched Breakfast Cereals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cheerios-protein.md) - [Cookie-Flavored Protein Cereals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/magic-spoon-grain-free-cereals.md)