I didn’t expect to see this browsing today’s news! But lo and behold, all these years I thought I was eating cereal.. I was actually eating drugs!!
Because of the claims they make on the Cheerios boxes such as “you can Lower Your Cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks” and “Did you know that in just 6 weeks Cheerios can reduce bad cholesterol by an average of 4 percent? Cheerios is … clinically proven to lower cholesterol. A clinical study showed that eating two 1 1/2 cup servings daily of Cheerios cereal reduced bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.”, the FDA is saying they violate laws concerning drug labels and claims.
This health claim misbrands your product because it has not been authorized either by regulation [see section 343(r)(3)(A)-(B) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 343(r)(3)(A)(B)]] or under authority of the health claim notification provision of the Act [see section 343(r)(3)(C) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 343(r)(3)(C)]]. Although FDA has issued a regulation authorizing a health claim associating fiber-containing grain products with a reduced risk of cancer (21 CFR 101.76), the claim on your website does not meet the requirements for the authorized claim.For example, under section 101.76(c)(2) the claim must state that diets high in fiber-containing grain products, fruits, and vegetables may reduce the risk of some cancers. The claim on your website leaves out any reference to fruits, vegetables, and fiber content. Therefore, your claim does not convey that all these factors together help to reduce the risk of heart disease and does not enable the public to understand the significance of the claim in the context of the total daily diet [see section 343(r)(3)(B)(iii) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 343(r)(3)(B)(iii)]].
The US’s Food and Drug Administration claims that the statements on General Mill’s Cheerios cereal box and website “forces” the FDA to evaluate the product as a treatment to the disease hypercholesterolemia.
So the government leaves you with this important Public Service Announcement… Don’t do drugs! Or eat cheerios! 
Failure to promptly correct the violations specified above may result in enforcement action without further notice. Enforcement action may include seizure of violative products and/or injunction against the manufacturers and distributors of violative products.
So that last little bit states that if the packing isn’t changed “Promptly” they’re going to take all of General Mill’s violating cereal boxes.. without notice. What would happen to all of that cereal? Think they’d use it to help feed the hungry? Or would they burn/dispose of it for violating their regulations?
Here’s the rest of the FDA Warning Letter on their Site
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