http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090513/hl_afp/healthusfoodmedicine;_ylt=AiryOzenjGOUKJzJkjqMu5HZn414

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Popular US breakfast cereal Cheerios is a drug, at least if the claims made on the label by its manufacturer General Mills are anything to go by, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said.

"Based on claims made on your product's label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug," the FDA said in a letter to General Mills which was posted on the federal agency's website Tuesday.

Cheerios labels claim that eating the cereal can help lower bad cholesterol, a risk factor for coronary heart disease, by four percent in six weeks.

Citing a clinical study, the product labels also claim that eating two servings a day of Cheerios helps to reduce bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, the FDA letter says.

Those claims indicate that Cheerios -- said by General Mills to be the best-selling cereal in the United States -- is intended to be used to lower cholesterol and prevent, lessen or treat the disease hypercholesterolemia, and to treat and prevent coronary heart disease.

"Because of these intended uses, the product is a drug," the FDA concluded in its letter.

Not only that, but Cheerios is a new drug because it has not been "recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease," the FDA said.

That means General Mills may not legally market Cheerios unless it applies for approval as a new drug or changes the way it labels the small, doughnut-shaped cereal, the FDA said.

5/14/2009 10:14:23 AM

There's more...

Very disturbing

Quote :

" NEW YORK - A man was charged with withdrawing $2 million from an account after a bank confused him with a man who has the same name. ADVERTISEMENT Benjamin Lovell was arraigned Tuesday on grand larceny charges. The 48-year-old salesman said he tried to tell officials at Commerce Bank in December that he did not have a $5 million account. He says he was told it was his and he could withdraw the money. Prosecutors said the bank — which advertises itself as America's Most Convenient Bank — confused Lovell with a Benjamin Lovell who works for a property management company. The lesser-funded Lovell gave away some of the withdrawn money and blew some of it on gifts, but lost much of it on bad investments, prosecutors said. The district attorney's office did not immediately have information on his lawyer. Calls left with"

5/14/2009 10:16:42 AM

^
What the fuck does that have to do with the original post?



Fuck the FDA. Anyone with half a brain should clearly see that the FDA is merely a fascist wing of the government designed to further the intellectual property paradigm for our rich-stay-rich corporatist oligopoly.

5/14/2009 10:22:44 AM

Quote :

"Fuck the FDA. Anyone with half a brain should clearly see that the FDA is merely a fascist wing of the government designed to further the intellectual property paradigm for our rich-stay-rich corporatist oligopoly"

So I guess general mills with it's $18 billion market cap falls outside of the "rich-stay-rich coporatist oligopoly"?

5/14/2009 10:25:10 AM

Quote :

"What the fuck does that have to do with the original post?"

5/14/2009 10:27:13 AM

^^
No, it certainly doesn't, but that doesn't matter anyway -- my point about the FDA still stands.

In fact, since food can't be patented, this may merely be a part of the FDA's attempt to place food into the intellectual property paradigm...

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 10:31 AM. Reason : ]

5/14/2009 10:27:31 AM

ahahahahha, GG Sweden

5/14/2009 10:27:47 AM

haha that's great

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 10:32 AM. Reason : i was referring to the original post - but the followup was good too - WN must be new]

5/14/2009 10:30:45 AM

^
^^
Why? He posted some irrelevant crap. Why is that good?

5/14/2009 10:31:14 AM

don't worry about it. the funny escapes you anyway.

5/14/2009 10:33:22 AM

^
Why? He posted some irrelevant crap. Why is that good or funny?

5/14/2009 10:34:35 AM

anyone who seriously mistakes cheerios for drugs oughta have their ass beat on general principle

5/14/2009 10:35:41 AM

^^ because it's chit chat not the fucking soap box. and it's something from a while back. get over it, humor isn't for you.

5/14/2009 10:36:41 AM

why can't they just put the same warning they put on herbal supplements and stuff?

5/14/2009 10:57:26 AM

Quote :

"get over it, humor isn't for you"

Excuse me? I'm a huge fan of humor -- I prefer stand-up comedy to music.
But whatever lame inside joke this must be isn't the least bit funny.

5/14/2009 11:01:53 AM

^^

they probably will

5/14/2009 11:02:33 AM

^^ i'm sorry you can't enjoy it, mr. comedy connoisseur.

if you knew what it was, you would think it's funny. so get over it.

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 11:08 AM. Reason : k]

5/14/2009 11:07:37 AM

oh willy

5/14/2009 11:07:52 AM

Quote :

"Fuck the FDA. Anyone with half a brain should clearly see that the FDA is merely a fascist wing of the government designed to further the intellectual property paradigm for our rich-stay-rich corporatist oligopoly."

If Cheerios is going to fuck with peoples' heads by making medical claims then I fully support the FDA forcing them to back it up or quit making the claims.

5/14/2009 11:10:26 AM

5/14/2009 11:12:37 AM

Quote :

"If Cheerios is going to fuck with peoples' heads by making medical claims then I fully support the FDA forcing them to back it up or quit making the claims."

Sure, but the point is: Why does the FDA need to consider oat bran cereal to be a drug? Why does food that has medical value need to be considered a drug? It's because of the bullshit allegiance to the intellectual property paradigm.

THIS JUST IN! SOME FOODS ARE HEALTHY! STOP THE PRESSES!

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 11:18 AM. Reason : ]

5/14/2009 11:17:40 AM

^^ We listened to that in it's entirety at our latest CANES tailgate experience.

5/14/2009 11:18:25 AM

so does willy nilly post in the soapbox? cause it seems like that's where all his posts belong

5/14/2009 11:19:13 AM

i cant tell if willy is trolling or not - shit makes me lawlerrrvision

5/14/2009 11:20:17 AM

nah, he's not trolling. i think he actually takes himself that seriously

5/14/2009 11:25:08 AM

5/14/2009 11:25:17 AM

anyone know where i can get an ounce of o's??

5/14/2009 11:26:57 AM

Cheerio, mates. Top of the mornin' to ye.

5/14/2009 11:28:28 AM

Quote :

"What the fuck does that have to do with the original post?"

Lol @ Sweeden

GTFO @ Willy Nilly

5/14/2009 11:39:22 AM

Quote :

"so does willy nilly post in the soapbox? cause it seems like that's where all his posts belong"

Yes, and he is this pompous about everything. Reminds me of ole Oeuvre aka abonorio for the soap box crowd.

5/14/2009 11:42:18 AM

Cheerios is not a drug. I used to suck dick for coke!
Now that's an addiction, man. You ever suck some dick for cheerios?

5/14/2009 11:44:33 AM

^^ heh i sent him this link after you posted that

Quote :

"nice i'm not forgotten I haven't posted in like a year and a half I must've been memorable "

5/14/2009 11:46:42 AM

Quote :

"Sure, but the point is: Why does the FDA need to consider oat bran cereal to be a drug? Why does food that has medical value need to be considered a drug? It's because of the bullshit allegiance to the intellectual property paradigm. "

Are you really this dumb? You're only protecting it because it's a product that you consider to be healthy. If they ran a Fritos commercial tomorrow claiming that replacing one meal a day with Fritos was a healthy way to prevent heart disease you'd shit a brick. The FDA is simply saying that if you're going to make medicinal claims they're going to treat you like a medicine. They certainly aren't going after any other oat brans and that's because the other ones aren't claiming drug-like effects.

By the way, I used Fritos as an example because they actually claim it to be a "heart healthy" snack ever since they replaced some of the saturated fats with unsaturated fats. You can make anything look good with a small enough microscope, but at the macro level that stuff is utter shit.

Are you too blind to see how this type of advertising can be used to exploit the uninformed public?

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 11:48 AM. Reason : l]

5/14/2009 11:47:47 AM

Quote :

"word turd"

5/14/2009 11:51:59 AM

Quote :

"SHIT A BRICK"

5/14/2009 11:53:50 AM

Quote :

"Are you really this dumb? "

No, but you must be to assume to know what I think about this issue...

Quote :

"You're only protecting it because it's a product that you consider to be healthy. If they ran a Fritos commercial tomorrow claiming that replacing one meal a day with Fritos was a healthy way to prevent heart disease you'd shit a brick."

Wrong and wrong. But keep on assuming that you know what I think about this issue...

Quote :

"The FDA is simply saying that if you're going to make medicinal claims they're going to treat you like a medicine."

Which is bullshit because they only consider drugs in the intellectual property paradigm to count as medicine. The FDA is one of the worst entities ever. It clearly needs to be replaced with many private entities that compete over providing the most accurate information.

Quote :

"Are you too blind to see how this type of advertising can be used to exploit the uninformed public?"

It is not hard to pick up a book and learn for yourself the facts of a situation. As I said earlier, there could be many private companies similar to the UL that provide information regarding the safety, healthiness, or medicament value of a consumable substance. It is the responsibility of people to decide which source of information to trust, and to decide whether or not to consume anything. Now, they only have one source -- one giant, fascist, and corrupt source.

5/14/2009 11:57:15 AM

Quote :

"FTC quashes Tropicana's 'Healthy Heart' claims 03-Jun-2005 Related topics: Industry & Markets, Ingredients and additives The FTC has reached a settlement with Tropicana Products over advertisements claiming that its Healthy Heart orange juice could reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and homocysteine levels, writes Jess Halliday, dealing a blow to a company that wants to be seen to be keeping up with healthy living trends."

^Maybe you should read this.

http://www.beveragedaily.com/Industry-Markets/FTC-quashes-Tropicana-s-Healthy-Heart-claims

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 11:59 AM. Reason : added link]

5/14/2009 11:58:28 AM

Quote :

"It is not hard to pick up a book and learn for yourself the facts of a situation. As I said earlier, there could be many private companies similar to the UL that provide information regarding the safety, healthiness, or medicament value of a consumable substance. It is the responsibility of people to decide which source of information to trust, and to decide whether or not to consume anything. Now, they only have one source -- one giant, fascist, and corrupt source."

Oh that's bullshit and you know it. Basic government protections are a good thing. I'm 30 years old and educated yet I still learn something new every day. Corporations with their multi-million dollar marketing budgets will beat out unbiased research/education every time. Snake oil salesmen can always find masses of people who have not had access to the education that you and I have had or are not smart enough to understand it in the first place.

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 12:07 PM. Reason : l]

5/14/2009 12:04:50 PM

Quote :

"Oh that's bullshit and you know it. Basic government protections are a good thing."

No. Protections are a good thing, but they need not come from the government. Even if the government plays a role in ensuring that protections exist, that doesn't mean that the protections must actually come from the government.

Quote :

"Corporations with their multi-million dollar marketing budgets will beat out unbiased research/education every time."

"beat out" what? Dumb people? Why should anyone care about them? Society doesn't need them. If someone wants to ignore multiple sources of unbiased research/education, and instead only listen to flashy and misleading advertising, that's on them. I agree that there should be unbiased research/education regarding the safety, healthiness, or medicament value of consumable substances, but why in the hell do you think it should come solely from the government?

Quote :

"Snake oil salesmen can always find masses of people who have not had access to the education that you and I have had or are not smart enough to understand it in the first place."

So? Perhaps one giant, fascist, and corrupt source of information about the safety, healthiness, or medicament value of consumable substances is inadequate. Perhaps we should have more parties competing to provide that information accurately and quickly. Besides, with all the sources of information out there today, who cares if people are too dumb to figure it out? That's on them.

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 12:26 PM. Reason : ]

5/14/2009 12:24:23 PM

i don't think cheerios count as any sort of snake oil medicine, though

5/14/2009 12:25:34 PM

It's the slippery slope argument.
Today it's Cheerios
Tomorrow it's Fritos

5/14/2009 1:00:21 PM

lol@Willy Nilly Massive [fail]

5/14/2009 1:08:45 PM

This is the dumbest thing I've seen all month.

Our fucking tax dollars are going to some government fucking idiot who has beef with GM saying Cheerios help improve your health?!?!

5/14/2009 1:14:07 PM

^^
I didn't fail anything....
...but your post being rather empty of any actual points or useful contributions, I'd say you fail.

5/14/2009 2:10:28 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theories

5/14/2009 3:10:14 PM

Hm. Doesn't Quaker's Oats also advertise that it lowers cholesterol?

Quote :

"THIS JUST IN! SOME FOODS ARE HEALTHY! STOP THE PRESSES!"

That's pretty much how I feel about it. I guess the FDA is saying that you shouldn't advertise that their products will drop your cholesterol points or make your heart healthier.

Just seems stupid to me.

5/14/2009 3:22:13 PM

We better get that dangerous milk off the streets, they say it builds strong bones!

5/14/2009 3:26:04 PM

Quote :

"This is the dumbest thing I've seen all month. Our fucking tax dollars are going to some government fucking idiot who has beef with GM saying Cheerios help improve your health?!?! "

It's not dumb, this has been the way the FDA has been going about this stuff for years now, esp. w/ herbal medicines. It's just now that it's happened w/ something as popular as Cheerios everybody is getting their panties in a twist. All GM has to do is change the wording on the box. By law you can't imply that your product can be used to treat or prevent any condition unless there is FDA-approved research that backs it up. That means multiple clinical studies, not just one single study that was probably administered by GM.

The bottom line here is that the FDA has to do this to protect the public because the public are a bunch of fucking idiots. If Cheerios claims to treat or prevent heart disease, people are going to start coming to doctors insisting that they not take their statins anymore and just eat some damn Cheerios every morning to lower their cholesterol.

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 3:44 PM. Reason : .]

5/14/2009 3:43:31 PM

Doctor says my cholesterol is dangerously high and I'm at serious risk for coronary heart disease. He prescribed Lipitor, but I'm just going to try Cheerios instead. They wouldn't claim it lowers cholesterol if it weren't true.

[Edited on May 14, 2009 at 10:07 PM. Reason : l]

5/14/2009 10:06:49 PM

I deal directly with FDA regulations every day. Even FDA audits. The purpose of the FDA is to protect the public and make sure that information presented on drugs, food, and active pharmaceutical ingredients is accurate.

Quote :

"Fuck the FDA. Anyone with half a brain should clearly see that the FDA is merely a fascist wing of the government designed to further the intellectual property paradigm for our rich-stay-rich corporatist oligopoly."

Huh? If anything, FDA initiatives cost big companies HUGE amounts of money. This initiatives have created thousands of jobs and help to improve the overall quality of drug products.

I'm not quite sure you actually understand what the FDA does. Have you ever read the Code of Federal regulations that the FDA operates under? Anyways, that last sentence in that quote doesn't actually mean anything besides tossing around buzzwords in an attempt to look intelligent.

5/14/2009 10:37:56 PM