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General Mills cereals to remove artificial flavors, colors

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MINNEAPOLIS — Over the next couple of years, General Mills plans to remove artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources from the rest of its cereals.

The company said Monday that more than 60% of its cereals — such as Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Original Cheerios — are already without artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources and “have been that way for a long time.” Plans call for more than 90% of General Mills cereals to be free of artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources by the end of next year.

Among the first of the remaining brands to change will be Trix and Reese’s Puffs, with the updated cereals due out on store shelves this winter, according to General Mills. Trix will now use ingredients like fruit and vegetable juices and spice extracts such as turmeric and annatto to get the cereal’s red, yellow, orange and purple colors. Reese’s Puffs will continue to use peanut butter and cocoa and incorporate natural vanilla flavor to achieve the same taste that adults and children have always enjoyed, the company said.

General Mills noted that the move comes in response to changing consumer preferences. According to a poll conducted by Nielsen for General Mills, 49% of households are making an effort to avoid artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources. As a result, General Mills said, the company will use more recognizable, familiar ingredients to create the colors and flavors in its cereals.

“At General Mills Cereals, we have been upgrading the nutrition and ingredients in our cereals for years to meet people’s needs and desires,” stated Jim Murphy, president of the General Mills cereal division. “We’ve continued to listen to consumers who want to see more recognizable and familiar ingredients on the labels and challenged ourselves to remove barriers that prevent adults and children from enjoying our cereals.”

In 2005, General Mills converted its entire line of Big G cereals to include at least eight grams of whole grain per serving, and today whole grain is the first ingredient in all General Mills Big G cereals. Since 2007, the company has lowered sugar levels in children’s cereals by more than 16% on average, and as of January 2011, all General Mills cereals advertised to children have 10 grams of sugar or less per serving.

General Mills said it plans to have all of its cereals free from artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources by the end of 2017.

“We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, and we know some products will present challenges as we strive to uphold the taste, quality and fun in every spoonful of cereal,” commented Kate Gallager, cereal developer at General Mills. “Cereals that contain marshmallows, like Lucky Charms, may take longer, but we are committed to finding a way to keep the magically delicious taste as we work to take out the artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources.”

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