General Mills Achieves Whole Grain Reformulation Milestone

The Dietary Guidelines recommend that half the grain included in the diet come from whole grain (at least 48 grams recommended daily). To help people keep track of their intake, the cereals with the white check also now highlight the grams of whole grain per serving on the side of the box.

Jan 13 2012 --- General Mills announced it has reached a multi-year reformulation milestone across its portfolio of Big G cereals, more than 50 cereals with the white check. Now every cereal with the white check has more whole grain than any other single ingredient with the same great taste. Consumers will see whole grain listed first on the ingredient list, indicating that whole grain is the first and most prevalent ingredient. This includes family favorites like Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Total, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cheerios.

The Dietary Guidelines recommend that half the grain included in the diet come from whole grain (at least 48 grams recommended daily). To help people keep track of their intake, the cereals with the white check also now highlight the grams of whole grain per serving on the side of the box.

"Whole grain makes a vital contribution to good health, and we know Americans value it in their cereals," said Jeff Harmening, president of General Mills Big G cereal division. "As a company, we always strive to improve the health and nutrition of our products while never compromising taste. That's why we're proud to announce that, no matter which of our more than 50 cereals people choose, they can be assured they're getting more whole grain than any other single ingredient, with the same great taste their family loves."

There are more grams of whole grain in every cereal with the white check than any other single ingredient (including sugar from all sources combined). The proof is on the new packaging. Grams of whole grain are listed on the side of the box and grams of sugar from all sources are listed on the front of the box and in the Nutrition Facts panel.

"To make sure you're getting the right nutrition from products you purchase, it's important to pay close attention to the ingredient list on the side panel," said Dr. Travis Stork, emergency room physician and host of The Doctors. "I always recommend looking for foods with whole grain listed first. In connection with living healthy, whole grain has been linked to healthier body weights, and it may help reduce the risk of heart disease."

With so many healthy options available in grocery stores, it can be tough to know you're making the right selections for meeting whole grain recommendations. To help people make clearer choices, Dr. Stork has partnered with General Mills to help with whole grain education, including introducing Fast Lane for Whole Grain, an online educational game. Consumers are challenged to quickly identify products that have whole grain as the first ingredient while shopping virtual grocery store aisles. Players have the option to enter a sweepstakes to win one of each of the more than 50 cereals with the white check. The sweepstakes runs through March 18, 2012 on www.WholeGrainNation.com and 50 winners will be selected during the 10-week sweepstakes.

"We're committed to making it easier to choose whole grain," said Jean Storlie, MS, RD, director of the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition. "Whole grain is a powerful nutrient package that has vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber that are important to our diets – and too few of us are getting enough of it."

Whole grain is the entire seed of wheat, rice, corn or oats that includes all three parts of the grain (the bran, the germ and the endosperm). Cereals with whole grain use the whole seed without refining out the bran and germ. The health benefits of whole grain come from those three components working together in their natural proportions.

Ready-to-eat cereal is the leading whole grain source for Americans – and the top source of whole grain in children's diets. Every General Mills Big G cereal contains at least nine grams of whole grain per serving, and more than 20 General Mills cereals deliver 16 grams or more.