US-based General Mills is being sued by the non-profit consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI) for a misleading promotional campaign and labelling.
The company in its latest promotional campaign claims that its Cheerios Protein, which was launched in 2014, is higher in protein than their standard product.
The CSPI, however, alleged in the lawsuit that while there is a marginal improvement in protein content, the sugar content is significantly higher, making it less healthy.
Cheerios Protein is believed to have 17 times as much sugar per serving compared to regular Cheerios, and this has not been prominently disclosed, claimed the lawsuit.
It also pointed out that General Mills is "falsely and misleadingly" marketing Cheerios Protein as a "high protein, healthful alternative" to Cheerios.
In a statement, the non-profit consumer advocacy group said: "Cheerios Protein boasts on the front of its box that it has 11 grams of protein; four of those grams come from the milk, leaving seven grams from the cereal. Original Cheerios has three grams of protein.
"That four gram difference represents a small amount of protein, just five percent of the average American's intake. But much of that difference is attributable to differences in serving sizes. Cheerios Protein has a bigger, 55g serving size, whereas Cheerios uses a 27g serving size. Two ounces of each cereal have just about the same amount of protein."
It further added: "The far larger nutritional difference between Cheerios Protein and Cheerios is sugar. A 1¼ cup serving of Cheerios Protein contains 17 times as much sugar as original Cheerios, which only has one gram of sugar per one-cup serving. In fact, Cheerios Protein Oats & Honey has eight forms of added sugars, including brown sugar, sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, molasses, caramel (containing sugar and caramelized sugar syrup), honey, and refiner's syrup."
CSPI litigation director Maia Kats said: "Cheerios Protein is actually more conducive to diabetes, weight gain, heart disease, and tooth decay."
General Mills was quoted by ABC News as stating, "Cheerios Protein is accurately labeled. An equal amount of Cheerios Protein contains 18 percent more protein than regular Cheerios."
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in Northern California.
