Dear General Mills

I was at the store reading a food label for Trix cereal. I went home and wrote this letter to the CEO of General Mills because he needs to hear from me.

______________________________________________________________________________
September 7, 2010
General Mills
Kendall J. Powell
Chairman, President and CEO
1 General Mills Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55426
Dear Mr. Powell,
As a pediatric dietitian, I want to thank you for some of the cereals your company sells. Because I provide nutritional counseling for children from birth through adolescence, I carefully consider each and every product I endorse based on my clients’ needs. These are the General Mills products I promote most often:Cheerios: This is a good source of fiber, low in sugar and a terrific finger food for my youngest clients mastering the art of picking up food, chewing and swallowing it.
Wheaties: I like the fiber content and low sugar levels. Wheaties is quite tasty with bananas or blueberries, making it a complete breakfast for any champion.Chex-wheat and multibran: The higher fiber content is very attractive to me and the sugar content is reasonably low. The cereals are delicious and nutritious.
Cascadian Farm Organic: While expensive for some of my clients, I do heavily promote this line. I tend to like the cereals with less than 10 grams of sugar per serving and greater than 3 grams of fiber and many of Cascadian Farm Organic products meet this requirement.

I went to the store today and was studying the cereal aisle. I picked up a box of your Trix, Monsters and Lucky Charms cereals and read the labels. With all due respect Mr. Powell, I cannot understand why these products remain part of your repertoire of cereals. They are chock full of sugar, artificial dyes and artificial flavors and in my professional opinion, should not be considered breakfast. I appreciate there is feel good history behind the products and the cereals sell, but we are in the midst of a pediatric obesity crisis and we need parents, teachers, communities, health professionals and food companies to take responsibility to enact change. Do the right thing and remove Trix, Monsters and Lucky Charms from the General Mills product line and heavily market the healthier cereals you sell.

If you would like to discuss this issue further, I am happy to do so. Please contact me at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your time on this matter.

Regards,

Melanie R. Silverman MS, RD, IBCLC
work: 949.271.9125
fax: 949.272.2365

About Melanie Silverman

Melanie is a pediatric registered dietitian nutritionist (RD) and a board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) working primarily in pediatric nutrition for well over 15 years. She spent seven years as a clinical dietitian at The University of Chicago Medical Center in the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, adult and pediatric burn units, and high risk pediatric follow-up clinic. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at Loyola University Chicago. Melanie has presented at state and national meetings for the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), March of Dimes, Prader-Willi California Foundation, Texas Prader-Willi Association, Oklahoma Prader Willi Syndrome Association, Foundation for Prader-Willi Research (FPWR) in the United States and Canada and the Prader-Willi Syndrome USA (PWSA). She worked hard for her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Spanish from Indiana University and a Master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition from Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center. A member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, California Dietetic Association, Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group, Women’s Health Group, Nutrition Entrepreneurs and an active member of the International Lactation Consultant Association.