Cheerios Is Not So Cheerful

Not after having the U.S. Food and Drug Administration take it to task for making what the FDA considers to be false claims about the benefits of eating the cereal.

In its letter to General Mills (which makes the cereal), the FDA cut right to the chase. "Your Cheerios product is misbranded," the letter said.

At issue was a claim that appears right on Cheerios' cereal box: "You can lower your cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks." The letter declared that Cheerios' claim violates federal law. General Mills has promised to work with the FDA to resolve the matter. It sounds like the FDA believes there is a simple way to resolve it -- stop making the claim.