Amid growing concerns over food safety, General Mills Inc. (GIS), a branded consumer foods provider, Wednesday said it will further slash down sugar-level in its cereals advertised to children under 12 to single-digit grams per serving. The initiative that extends globally to 130 countries will be done by the company only in a series of smaller steps for maintaining the taste.
Commenting on the commitment, Jeff Harmening, President of General Mills' Big G cereal division, said, "Maintaining great taste while continuing to reduce sugar is a challenge. It requires technology, time and investment. But we're doing it. We are committed to reaching single-digit levels."
While some brands of Minneapolis, Minnesota-based General Mills including Cheerios, RiceChex, Wheaties, Kix are already running at single-digit sugar levels, others like Lucky Charms, Trix, Cocoa Puffs are still on double digit sugar figures.
"Our first target was to reduce sugar in cereals advertised to children to 12 grams of sugar or less. Many were already lower, but some were not. So we put in place a plan to reduce sugar levels in a series of steps in those cereals and others, while continuing to deliver great taste," added Harmening.
Kellogg's is the other major brand that is all set on the way in providing cereals with reduced sugar. The company is also thinking ahead by adding fibers to its sweetened multi-grain cereals.
General Mills said it had already reduced sugar in many cereals, some by as much as 20%, and by spring its cereals advertised to children will all have 11 grams of sugar per serving or less.
The company also said it have been reducing sugar in cereals advertised to children, while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D and providing whole grain.
Ready-to-eat cereal is now the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child's diet - and whole grain is the number one ingredient in every cereal that General Mills advertises to children.
GIS is currently trading at $68.72, down $0.01 or 0.01%, on a volume of 0.33 million shares.
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