Watchdogs Sue Kellogg’s|Over Cereal Ads

WASHINGTON (CN) - Kellogg falsely advertises that its Frosted Mini-Wheat cereal "improved children's attentiveness by 20 percent," the National Consumers League claims in Superior Court. The nonprofit Consumers League claims Kellogg's "study" compared kids who ate its sugared cereal with children who did not eat breakfast at all - and even then, juggled the numbers.

The Consumers League claims the breakfast cereal giant's "clinical study" actually found that only one out of nine children who ate Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast was more attentive by 20 percent.

"In fact, kids in the clinical study who ate Frosted Mini-Wheats had an average of 10.6 percent better attentiveness three hours later than kids who had skipped breakfast," the complaint states. "Indeed, relatively few kids - only approximately one in nine - experienced 20 percent improved attentiveness in the study, and only one in seven kids who ate the cereal improved their attentiveness by 18 percent."

Kellogg advertises the bogus claim on television, cereal boxes and milk cartons to in violation of the DC Consumer Protection Procedures Act, the League says.

Kellogg, based in Battle Creek, Mich., is the largest cereal company in the world, with more than 34 percent of U.S. market share in 2007, and revenue of $12.8 billion, one-quarter of it from cereals, according to the complaint.

The National Consumers League seeks damages of $1,500 per violation of the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, plus costs. It is represented by Donald Enright with Finkelstein Thompson.

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