Kellogg has stood by the nutritional make-up of its cereals on sale in Mexico after an NGO criticised the range marketed by the US giant in the country.
Netherlands-based Changing Markets has claimed Kellogg’s cereals in Mexico “have become significantly poorer in terms of minerals and vitamins”.
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The campaign group said it had compared “micronutrient levels” in “five of the most popular Kellogg’s breakfast cereals” in 2013 and 2018. It has claimed “two-thirds of all micronutrients across all five cereals had been reduced or removed when compared to 2013 levels”.
In its report, Changing Markets said: “Several types of B vitamins and vitamins C and E have been significantly reduced or entirely removed.”
Changing Markets argued Kellogg’s fortification strategy in the country “seem to be empty words”.
Speaking to just-food, a Kellogg spokesperson said the company’s “cereals remain fortified and an excellent source of nutrition for consumers”.
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By GlobalDataThe spokesperson added: “Kellogg Company has been proactive and transparent with consumers about the rebalancing of the micronutrients in our cereals, through communication on pack and in advertising and marketing materials.
“Studies such as this one, although likely well-intended, can be misleading and often fail to paint the full picture. The cereals cited in the report are designed for a Latin America consumer and meet a broader set of regulatory and nutritional requirements across the region.
“We regularly make modifications to our portfolio to comply with these requirements and rebalance around evolving nutritional deficiencies and needs as communicated to us by regional health authorities and our consumers. For example, Vitamin D was added to some cereals in 2013, after it was identified as a critically deficient nutrient in Latin American diets in 2011.”
