to wonder why Kellogg's can't fortify our cereals as much as they do in the US?

[ShineSmile]

I am seriously in shock.

1 serving of Kellogg's Rice Krispies in the US contains 50% of RDA of iron. In the UK however, 1 serving only contains 17% of RDA of iron!

Why is this?

As someone with long term iron deficiency, I feel like starting a campaign to get them to fortify the Rice Krispies in the same way as they are doing in the US. AIBU?

[JennyCalendar]

Have a spinach omelette for breakfast. Much healthier and good for iron. (Probably works out cheaper too).



Are the serving sizes the same and the other ingredients the same? Is the RDA the same for both countries?

[JohnnyBarthes]

Cereals are crap (not that this puts ds off having a paddling pool sized bowl of them every morning) but that aside, might it be that the RDAs here and in the States are different?

[annebullin]

You could just take a multi-vitamin if you're worried I suppose.

Is there any evidence that fortifying cereals is really beneficial? Are our bodies able to use the added vitamins etc?

Rice crispies and other cereals tend to have loads of sugar in so I don't buy them.

[Betrayedbutsurvived]

www.foodcomm.org.uk/pdfs/fortification.PDF

This is why. Get your iron from natural sources, not artificial, sugar filled crap.

[BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted]

You can't, and shouldn't depend on one meal a day to provide such a high percentage of your dietary requirements. That's what eating a balanced diet is all about, surely?

What's shocking is that breakfast cereals are all so thoroughly processed in manufacture that all of their nutritional value has been removed, only to have it added back in again synthetically.

Instead of moaning about a mere 8% of RDA you might be better off with a serving of green, leafay veg instead.

[CoffeeTea103]

You are in shock, wow.

[JohnnyBarthes]

Oh and as well as the differing RDAs, are the portion sizes different? How many mg per 100g would be a more accurate comparison.

[fredfredgeorgejnr]

Have you identified that the RDA's the same? And have you checked that they are both using the same individual (30 year old woman and 30 year old man have very different needs) also have you checked that the serving sizes are the same etc. etc.

Equally if you're happy to fortify, don't you think it's better to just fortify with iron directly in your diet if you require it, rather than fortify all foods which increase the cost for everyone and increase the (small) risk of those who cannot process iron.

Rice krispies aren't targeted at a group who are commonly iron deficient, so why focus on those?

[PuppyMonkey]

Seriously I shock?

Are you ok?

[bookishandblondish]

By the way, spinach isn't good for iron as it stops/ reduces iron absorption. Spinach itself has about the same amount of iron as other green veg but doesn't help absorption.

For rally good iron, red meat especially liver.

[ShineSmile]

Serving sizes are similar (27g for US, 30g for UK).

Here is US: services.kelloggs.com/content/dam/common/products/nutrition/KelloggsRiceKrispiesMultigrainShapescereal_1465304.gif

Here is UK:

www.kelloggs.co.uk/en_GB/rice-krispies.html

At the moment I am trying to get DD to have as much as iron, and she is poor and fussy eater, and she is already on supplements (and sees a dietician) this would really help. I might order some from the US.

[ShineSmile]

Ok shock might have been too heavy a word, but I was really disappointed , as I ended up on the US website and got really happy (yay this is fab!), and then realised it was the US version.

[NancyinCali]

Check the rest of the ingredients before you order from the USA: in the US they put a lot more crap in their food that is banned elsewhere and often a lot more sugar. I've become obsessed with reading labels since living here!

[BravePotato]

You can have too much of a good thing.

Too much iron leads to constipation (my kids would eat 2 "serving size" of cereal, as well as meat and green veg and thus "overdose")

The only ware soluble vitamin is Vit C. In other words, drinking too much orange juice or Vit c tablets is harmless as you pee it out.

Other vitamins, such as Vit. A are actually harmful if too much is consumed.

American mass produced food is hardly a shining beacon of healthy living.

If you eat a good varied diet, nobody needs anything "fortified".

[BravePotato]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24563590

[MagicMojito]

I share your pain to a degree, I had HUGE expectations when kellogs brought fruit loops to the UK... what a let down! They changed the entire recipe to make it "healthier"

If I want to eat healthy, ill buy a salad.
I like the sugar, I like the artificial bright blue frosty loops.

I understand your shock and disappointment OP :(

[iK8]

Maybe not everybody wants their cereal so heavily fortified? If you have an iron deficiency take an iron supplement.

Most cereals are eaten by children who need less iron than women of child-bearing age so it might not be the best idea to give them an excess of supplements.

Do you even know what the RDA for iron is in the US and what the RDA for iron in the UK is for a woman your age?

[JohnnyBarthes]

8 mg per 100g here - I can't find the equivalent information for the US.

OP, your link above is to nutrition information for another product, not for bog standard Rice Krispies.

[oohdaddypig]

Mmmm. I don't eat breakfast cereals as they are sugary unhealthy crap. Whether they are fortified with artificial minerals is of no interest to me. The additives is US food are awful and do shock me.

If you are anaemic try to have beef/lamb liver once a week!

[JohnnyBarthes]

I am at myself for caring though!

As others have said, look to get your iron from natural sources, with supplements if necessary.

I remember the Birth to 5 book (which I received when ds was born in 2000 so advice may well have evolved) suggesting scrambled eggs for breakfast with a small amount of orange juice alongside to aid iron absorption.

[JohnnyBarthes]

Calves liver (veal can be perfectly ethical - assuming you're not a vegan - before anyone bites my head off) is delicious. ime children like it too (although ds might be a bit unusual in that he loves kidney, which is one of the few commonly eaten bits of animal that I find utterly revolting).

[Ceresthreeheads]

You might want to read this very good article on why cereals are sold to us, why they need to add fortification (no inherent nutrition) and how much profit to be made from processing them and adding a high margin :
www.theguardian.com/business/2010/nov/23/food-book-extract-felicity-lawrence

Eat porridge!

[Nomama]

Also... they don't because then eejits would rely on cereal to give kids a 'balanced diet'...

.. I too have a long standing iron deficiency. But no amount fortified food would help increase my iron levels. So people with my type of anaemia may make the same mistake as parents who rely on sub-foods for their kids.

And finally, because many fortified foods are useless at improving health at almost any level. Others may result in over consumption, which carries its own problems, including constipation.

If you look up B12 in bread/chappatis in the 1960/70s and what 'they' did and did not add to water you will find a lot of high standard research into a lot of foodstuffs - with both poor and wondrous health results.

[HolidayCriminal]

Because the American diet is generally so cruddy that they have to fortify the heck out of some things to get enough nutrition into people.

Or maybe that explains why everything is so much more expensive in the USA.

[wokeupwithasmile]

Btw, do not eat your cereals, whether from the US or not, with milk, because calcium inhibits the absorption of iron. So it is much better to have other iron-rich foods and a glass of orange juice, stirring away from cheese, milk, ice-cream and whatever else has calcium in it for at least 1 or 2 hours before and after the iron-rich food!