Tell Kellogg’s To Stop Targeting Kids With Cereals Full of Artificial Ingredients (PETITION)

When I first saw Kellogg’s new Baby Shark Cereal my heart sank.

My daughter, who is 2 years old, LOVES Baby Shark – and I knew when she saw this she would beg me for a box! Just look at all those artificial ingredients…

In 2015, Kellogg’s announced plans to remove artificial colors and artificial flavors from all of their cereals by the end of 2018, and this was widely reported by the media (1).

They never did.

Kellogg’s still sells several cereals with artificial colors and flavors in America. And now they’re coming out with brand new cereals full of the absolute WORST ingredients targeting our children.

 

Kellogg’s is SAYING one thing, but DOING another. Where is their integrity?

 

Meanwhile, Kellogg’s sells cereals with safer ingredients in other countries. In Europe and Australia, Kellogg’s takes artificial colors and the risky preservative BHT out of their cereals completely. Why not here too? This is wrong. 

 

I am petitioning Kellogg’s to keep their word and to remove all artificial colors, artificial flavors and BHT from their cereals: SIGN THE PETITION NOW

 

 

ARTIFICIAL COLORS

Kellogg’s uses these five artificial food dyes in their cereals: Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, and Red 3. 

Artificial food dyes…

• Are man-made in a lab with chemicals derived from petroleum – a crude oil product, which also happens to be used in gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt, and tar. (3)
• Have been banned in countries like Norway and Austria (5) and the UK has imposed a voluntary ban. (6) Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Red 40 require a warning label Europe that states “May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” (3-4)
• May harm children’s health and best be avoided according to a 2018 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement. (2)
• Can be contaminated with known carcinogens (a.k.a. an agent directly involved in causing cancer). (7).
• Cause an increase in hyperactivity in children. (8)
• Have a negative impact on children’s ability to learn. (8)
• Have been linked to long-term health problems such as asthma, skin rashes, and migraines. (5)
• Do not change the flavor of food and add absolutely no nutritional value to the foods we are eating and are used solely for aesthetic purposes. (7)
• Are being consumed at an alarming rate. A Purdue University study shows the extreme amounts of dyes being used in everyday foods now vs. when they were approved for use. Kids “could easily consume 100 mg of dyes in a day,” which is well over the amount shown to cause reactions. (9)

BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE (BHT)

• The preservative BHT is not proven safe and there are safer alternatives.
• BHT is not legally permitted in cereals in Europe or Australia, so companies like Kellogg’s remove it.
• BHT is linked to cancer (10) in some animal studies and is an endocrine disruptor that interferes with hormones (11).
• The approval of BHT as a food additive has been called one of the worst failures of our regulatory system by the respected Environmental Working Group and is included in their list of dirty dozen food additives (12).
• The Center For Science In The Public Interest (CSPI) classifies BHT as a “Caution” ingredient (13) that is unnecessary, is easily replaced by safe substitutes, and to avoid it when possible.
• There’s conflicting data about whether BHT promotes the growth of tumors, and its research is controversial (10) – too controversial to allow it in our food. The European Food Safety Authority (14) notes that short-term and subchronic toxicity study findings are inconsistent. Researchers agree that more studies need to be conducted.

ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS

• Artificial flavors are chemical mixtures made with synthetic (non-natural) ingredients in a lab with fractional distillation and chemical manipulation of various chemicals like crude oil or coal tar.
• Artificial flavors are much cheaper than using real food. With artificial flavors, chemists can make anything taste like a strawberry without any actual strawberries.
• Flavors can contain upwards of 100 ingredients, such as propylene glycol, polysorbate 80, BHT and BHA, all considered “incidental additives” not required to be labeled by the FDA. (15)
• The FDA doesn’t require companies to tell you what is in the flavors they use. It’s a complete mystery ingredient.
• A governmental or independent agency does not approve or oversee the safety of the food flavors. Instead, a flavor industry trade group, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) (16), has assembled their own “independent” panel of scientists who review and approve new flavors as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). These scientists are paid by the FEMA trade group (who ultimately get their funding from flavor companies). (17)
• Public advocacy groups have questioned FEMA’s processes and called on the FDA to ban certain flavor substances that have known links to cancer, but little has been done. (18)
• In 2019 the FDA banned 7 ingredients used to make artificial flavors that have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Any food company using artificial flavors has been given 2 years to remove them from their flavors, so they are still on store shelves. (19)

Tell Kellogg’s to remove these risky ingredients from their cereals. 

In recent months there has been Kellogg’s Peeps Cereal, Kellogg’s Unicorn Cereal, and Kellogg’s Caticorn Cereal… filled with artificial ingredients and BHT.

It’s time for Kellogg’s to stop churning out cereals like this. Why should American children needlessly consume these controversial chemicals if Kellogg’s has already figured out how to make their cereals without it?

Kellogg’s Unicorn Cereal without Artificial Colors or BHT in Australia:

Kellogg’s Froot Loops without Artificial Colors or BHT in Australia and Canada:

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes without BHT in the UK:

Parents overwhelmingly do not want products like this in stores. Here’s just one email I received about Kellogg’s cereals: 

“With all the reports of pesticides in cereals and what not, today while walking down the cereal aisle looking for my organic oatmeal I came across a cereal that just mortified me, as a parent and a responsible consumer doing my best to shop for better foods for my family I was so disgusted to see a cereal named Unicorn cereal by Kellogg’s. Not only that, but a family with 3 little girls in front of me were struggling to get past that cereal without a breakdown because the girls wanted the pretty unicorn cereal! I took some pics which I will attach and hope that this finds you in some way. It’s so incredibly off putting that a cereal company would do that to families.” ~ Irene

Kellogg’s is targeting young children, toddlers even, knowing they will get excited when they see a cartoon-covered box of Baby Shark Cereal at the store, begging their parents to buy it for them.

“We know ‘Baby Shark’ is a catchy tune that has captured the hearts of many families… New Kellogg’s Baby Shark cereal was created to expand on the joy families feel in a tasty way.” – Kellogg’s Press Release, July 2019

This is an absolutely disgusting marketing ploy by Kellogg’s to snag in the youngest consumers out there and get them hooked on their products.

Even if you don’t buy Kellogg’s cereal for your child, their school probably serves it.

Kellogg’s packages up Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, and Chocolate Frosted Flakes especially for schools across the country. Millions of children are eating risky artificial additives and BHT for their most important meal of the day.

 

PETITION

Dear Steven Cahillane, CEO of Kellogg Company:

In 2015, Kellogg’s announced they would remove artificial colors and artificial flavors from their U.S. cereals by the end of 2018. This was widely reported in the media. 

It is now 2019, and Kellogg’s still sells several cereals with artificial colors such as Froot Loops and Apple Jacks. In addition, Kellogg’s has recently launched new cereals made with artificial colors and/or artificial flavors (Baby Shark, Peeps, Unicorn, and Caticorn). These cereals are directly targeted towards young children and toddlers. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a policy statement in 2018 warning that some chemicals found in food colorings, preservatives, and packaging materials may harm children’s health and best be avoided. Artificial colors have been banned in countries like Norway and Austria and the UK has imposed a voluntary ban. They may be contaminated with carcinogens and cause an increase in hyperactivity in children. Artificial colors add absolutely no nutritional value and are used solely for aesthetic purposes. 

There are risks that come with artificial flavors as well. A governmental agency does not approve the safety of artificial flavors. Instead, a flavor industry trade group, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA), has assembled their own panel of scientists who review and approve new flavors as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). These scientists are paid by FEMA (who ultimately get their funding from flavor companies). Public advocacy groups have questioned FEMA’s processes and called on the FDA to ban certain flavor substances that have known links to cancer, but little has been done. In 2019 the FDA banned seven ingredients used to make artificial flavors that have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Any food company using artificial flavors has been given 2 years to remove them from their flavors, so they are still on store shelves.

Your children’s cereals are preserved with Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT). BHT is linked to cancer in some animal studies and is an endocrine disruptor that interferes with hormones. Although the FDA has granted it GRAS, BHT simply hasn’t been proven safe and researchers agree that more studies need to be conducted. BHT has been classified as one of the top “Dirty Dozen” food additives to avoid by the respected Environmental Working Group.

Kellogg’s sells some of the same cereals (Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, and Unicorn) in other countries with safer ingredients. In Europe and Australia for instance, Kellogg’s takes artificial colors and the risky preservative BHT out of their cereals completely. We deserve the same, safer cereals that other countries get.

These unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients are not in Kellogg’s cereals sold overseas – so they shouldn’t be in ours. The simple fact that you don’t use these ingredients elsewhere is proof that they are not needed.

I urge you to remove Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors, and BHT from all of your cereals here in North America and worldwide.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

 

Thank you for joining me in signing this petition and spreading the word:

SHARE THIS PETITION. We are helping to shape a safer food system for everyone.

Xo,

Vani

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