In article >,
"Zeppo" > wrote:

> "Paul M. Cook" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Zeppo" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >>
> >> "George" > wrote in message
> >> ...
> >>> Mark Thorson wrote:
> >>>> FDA tells General Mills that Cherrios is an
> >>>> unapproved new drug.
> >>>>
> >>>> http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s7188c.htm
> >>>>
> >>>> All these years, I thought it was a breakfast cereal!
> >>>
> >>> When a manufacturer makes explicit health claims as they did they are
> >>> declaring it is a drug.
> >>>
> >>
> >> Don't think I agree with your statement, but I do believe it is verges on
> >> false advertizing.
> >>
> >> Promoting something as 'health food' just because it won't kill you (as
> >> opposed to their other cereals that probably could kill you) is pretty
> >> misleading.
> >
> > They made a direct claim it lowered your cholesterol 10% if you ate it
> > every day. No if ands or buts, they said it absolutely lowered your
> > cholesterol. That's better than some statin drugs.
> >
> > Paul
>
> Yeah, but... Just because something works as well (or even better than) a
> drug doesn't make it a drug.

The FDA was saying that it was being promoted as though it was a drug.
You can't do that, not without going through the process of getting it
approved as a drug.

> If you look at the fine print it says something like 'when used in
> conjunction with a healthy diet and a regular exercise program'. This is
> actually true. If you eat cheerios (or oatmeal or any other cereal that
> isn't all sugar) every day instead of bacon and eggs, and eat your fruit and
> veggies and don't eat a lot of other fatty foods and work out it WILL lower
> your cholesterol. I know because it worked for me.

That was the complaint. GM said it would work, but left out all the
details. The FDA is claiming that you can't just bury the "fine print"
and make the claims in big letters. If GM had put on the box the stuff
you posted above, there wouldn't have been a problem. They chopped off
all those details but still claimed it worked.

> The only issue is whether its cheating to have the banner on the box.

Yup.

> BTW, statins lowered my cholesterol 40%. I don't need them anymore but they
> were scary effective.

They are doing it for me.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA