Apparently, last week on April 5th, America celebrated National Caramel Day. Kellogg’s thought is would be a good day to formally launch a new caramel flavored cereal - Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Caramel Nut:
“People will find any reason to celebrate when they try new Crunchy Nut Caramel Nut,” said Yuvraj Arora, senior director of marketing at Kellogg. “Starting on National Caramel Day and beyond, we want to bring fun and enjoyment back to breakfast or anytime throughout the day.”
Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Caramel Nut gives taste fanatics everywhere reason to savor the deliciously irresistible combination of sweet and nutty flavor. This cereal features golden corn flakes drizzled with caramel flavor and topped with real peanuts.
Funny, we thought Kellogg’s had “fun and enjoyment” covered with Froot Loops and Apple Jacks. We were hoping to see Kellogg’s bring back nutrition to the breakfast table.
Maybe they did and are just keeping it a secret? Let’s take a look inside…
What you need to know:
Here’s a look at the ingredient list:
Milled corn, sugar, roasted peanuts, contains 2% or less of malt flavoring, brown sugar syrup, salt, molasses, caramel color, natural and artificial flavor, annatto color, BHT for freshness, wheat starch.
Vitamins and Minerals: Iron, vitamin C (ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate), niacinamide, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin A palmitate, folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12.
Lets’s review what we have here:
3 separately listed sugar ingredients – check
problematic preservative BHT – check
No naturally occurring nutrients – check
Industrially produced caramel color – check. Caramel color has been in the news recently as a potential carcinogen, but there is no way to know if they type that Kellogg’s is using might have 4-methylimidazole (4-MI) at above safe levels. We called Kellogg’s customer support ( 1-800-962-1413 and very friendly, by the way). but after a few minutes of looking up information on their internal systems, this is the answer we got:
“We use a very small amount of caramel color just to make the product look better. It is safe and approved by the FDA”
Oh well.
Nutrition: a one ounce serving (3/4 of a cup) will set you back 120 calories. There are 10 grams of sugar (2.5 teaspoons) and ZERO grams of fiber here.
On the bright side – no trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) and no artificial colors (unlike other Kellogg’s cereals). Also, the 10 gram sugar count is half a teaspoon less than many of the other Kellogg’s branded kids cereal.
Overall this cereal is more like a dessert than a good daily breakfast choice. It may be fun, but it’s certainly not nutritious.
What to do at the supermarket:
Opt for cereals made with whole grains that contain at least 3 grams of fiber and less than 6 grams of sugar (1.5 teaspoons).
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