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MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills is releasing its first wave of new cereal recipes under its effort to remove artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources from all of its cereals by the end of 2017.
The food company said Tuesday that the seven cereals — Trix, Reese’s Puffs, Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Chocolate Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios and Fruity Cheerios — highlight “no high fructose corn syrup” and “no artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources” on the front of each box.
With the rollout of the new recipes, General Mills said 75% of its iconic cereals are free of artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources.
The updated cereals now include fruit and vegetables juices, as well as spice extracts such as turmeric and annatto, to achieve the red, yellow, orange and purple colors in Trix and Fruity Cheerios. Reese’s Puffs and Golden Grahams incorporate natural vanilla flavor to achieve the same taste.
“Our General Mills Big G cereal team is always listening to consumers about how we can improve our cereals and make them better, including removing artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources,” stated Lauren Pradhan, senior marketing manager for wellness strategy in the General Mills cereal division. “The updated recipes hitting the cereal aisle this month deliver great taste and core benefits like whole grains to help moms and dads feel great about enjoying cereal with their family again.”
To build awareness of the updated cereal recipes, General Mills is launching a national advertising campaign titled “Again.” The company said the initiative highlights its efforts to remove the ingredients that people don’t want to see in their cereal bowl.
General Mills noted that the updated cereal recipes are hitting store shelves as the new 2015 Dietary Guidelines outline a growing need for consumers to add more whole grains in their diet, an area General Mills Big G cereals has been working on since 2005. This has resulted in whole grains as the first ingredient in all of its cereals.
“We are thrilled to see the 2015 Dietary Guidelines continue to recommend making half of your grains whole and recognizing 16 grams of whole grain as a serving, which wasn’t in the previous Guidelines,” commented Lesley Shiery, senior nutrition scientist for the Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition at General Mills. “All of our Big G cereals contain at least 10 grams of whole grain per serving, and many also deliver underconsumed nutrients for specific populations like vitamins A, C, D, calcium and iron.”
Last month, General Mills also announced that it’s making progress in its effort to reduce sodium across 10 key U.S. retail product categories.
