Providing easily accessible information on
breakfast cereals and the breakfast cereal industy

News

Significant Public Health Commitment from Breakfast Cereal Pioneers

17th March 2011

• Over the last 12 years, breakfast cereal manufacturers have reduced salt levels by 55%
• Breakfast cereals make a tiny contribution to people's salt intake
• Just 2% (1) of the salt in people's diets comes from breakfast cereals.

The Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers (ACFM) is pleased to announce their commitment to the Department of Health's Responsibility Deal on salt reductions. Working closely with the Department of Health, health experts, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and local government, breakfast cereal manufacturers have committed to the agreed salt targets* for the end of 2012, as confirmed by the Department of Health Responsibility Deal.

Breakfast cereals make a very small contribution to people's salt intake in the UK - just two per cent of the sodium in people's diets which is considerably less than other popular breakfast foods. In fact, many breakfast cereals do not contain any added salt.
Commenting on salt reductions, practising GP, Dr Gill Jenkins notes: "Breakfast cereals make an important nutritional contribution to most people's diets and they are packed with vital vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately there seem to be many myths regarding the levels of salt content in breakfast cereals. Many breakfast cereals do not contain any salt as an added ingredient. We can also see from various government figures our consumption of salt from breakfast cereals is extremely low". (2)

Dr Jenkins adds: "New research just published has found that people who eat breakfast cereal in the morning generally eat less fat, saturated fat and sugar, than those who do not and have better intakes of protein and important micronutrients, such as iron, vitamin D, B vitamins and calcium. So if you want to ensure a good dietary start to the day, packed with energy, fibre and some of the daily vital vitamins and minerals, eating a breakfast cereal in the morning is a must."

(1) Lennox a, et al (2010) Dietary intakes. In: National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Headline Results from Year 1 of the Rolling Programme (2008/2009), (B Bates, A Lennox, G Swan eds), pp. 33-53. Food Standards Agency and Department of Health: London.
(2) AJCN: December 29, 2010

For further information contact us at: info@breakfastcereal.org

Notes to Editors:
* Sales weighted average, as calculated using methodology endorsed by the Food Standards Agency.

• The ACFM is the trade association of the UK's leading breakfast cereal manufacturers, which includes Cereal Partners, Dailycer, Dorset Cereals, Jordans, Kellogg's, Mornflake, Quaker and Weetabix.
• Breakfast cereals are the most popular breakfast food with 88% of UK adults sometimes eating it and two thirds having it at least once a week (1).

Breakfast cereals have many positive health attributes including:

• Being a valuable contribution to the intakes of several vitamins and minerals in the diet (25-30%) (2), (3), (4), (5), (6). This includes folic acid, iron, thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
• Providing an excellent source of calcium as breakfast cereals provide one of the few meal occasions for people to consume milk. Cereals account for 41% total milk consumption in adults and 42% in kids in the UK (7) (8).
• A vital source of dietary fibre.
• A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association has confirmed the importance of eating breakfast with breakfast cereal being shown to be the most nutritious choice (9).
• Developments from manufacturers mean that breakfast cereals contribute just 1% fat (10), less than 5% sugar (11) and only 2% sodium to the daily diet (12).
• More than 99 per cent of breakfast cereals are currently classified as either low or medium for salt content according the Food Standard's Agency's profiling model.
• The average calorie content of a bowl of cereal and semi-skimmed milk is just 170 calories.
• People who eat breakfast, particularly breakfast cereal, are less likely to be overweight (13), (14), (15), (16). Indeed, people who skip breakfast regularly are more than four times more likely to be overweight and one study with nearly 18,000 men found that those who ate breakfast cereal regardless of type consistently weighted less than those who ate them less often (17). Even breakfast cereals with higher sugar content do not necessarily contain more calories.
• Researchers at Kings College London concluded that breakfast cereal consumption has a significant role in improving morning cognitive performance (18).
• Clinical studies show that those who eat breakfast cereals tend to make better dietary choices throughout the day. Those who tuck into breakfast cereal in the morning are less likely to choose biscuits, cakes and sweets later on (19), (20), (21).
• Breakfast cereal manufacturers lead the way in clearer nutritional labelling via the use of Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs). The EU project, FLABEL (Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life) declared British breakfast cereals the best food category in Europe for providing nutrition information on pack.

(1) YouGov survey: Putting Breakfast First. Jan 07.
(2) Henderson et al (2003): National Diet and Nutrition Survey: adults aged 19-64 years.
(3) Preziosi P et al (1999) Breakfast type, daily nutrient intakes and vitamin and mineral status of French children, adolescents and adults. J Am Coll Nutr 18:171-8
(4) Gibson S (2003) Micronutrient intakes, micronutrient status and lipid profiles among young people consuming different amounts of breakfast cereals: further analysis of data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of young people aged 14 to 18 years. Public Health Nutrition 6:815-820
 (5) Galvin MA et al (2003) Impact of ready-to-eat breakfast cereal consumption on adequacy of micronutrient intakes and compliance with dietary recommendations in Irish Adults. Public Health Nutrition 6:351-363
(6) Serra-Majem L (2001) Vitamin and mineral intakes in European children. Is food fortification needed? Public Health Nutrition 2001 4(1A):101-107
(7) Nicklas et al. (1998) Eating Patterns, Dietary Quality and Obesity Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 20, No. 6, 599-608
(8) TNS World panel - Feb 07
(9) Priya R. Deshmukh-Taskar et al. 2010. The Relationship of Breakfast Skipping and Type of Breakfast Consumption with Nutrient Intake and Weight Status in Children and Adolescents: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2006 Volume 110 (6): 869-878.
(10) Henderson et al (2003) National Diet and Nutrition Survey: adults aged 19-64 years
(11) Henderson et al (2003) National Diet and Nutrition Survey: adults aged 19-64 years
(12) Lennox a, et al (2010) Dietary intakes. In: National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Headline Results from Year 1 of the Rolling Programme (2008/2009), (B Bates, A Lennox, G Swan eds), pp. 33-53. Food Standards Agency and Department of Health: London.

(13) Koshi et al The association between consumption of breakfast cereals and BMI in school children aged 12-17 years; the VYRONAS study. Public Health Nutr (Oct 2008) 11(10):1015-21
(14) Liu S et al (2003) Relation between changes in intakes of dietary fibre and grain products and changes in weight and development of obesity in middle-aged women. American Journal Clinical Nutrition 78:920-927
(15) Koh Banerjee P et al (2003) Changes to whole grain, bran and cereal fibre consumption relates to 8-y weight gain among men. American Journal Clinical Nutrition 80:1237-1245
(16) Bertrais S et al (2000) Contribution of ready-to-eat cereals to nutrition intakes in French adults and relations with corpulence. Ann Nutr Metab 44:249-55
(17) Bazzano et al. 2005
(18) Wesnes et al. 2003
(19) Galvin MA et al (2003) Impact of ready-to-eat breakfast cereal consumption on adequacy of micronutrient intakes and compliance with dietary recommendations in Irish Adults. Public Health Nutrition 69:351-363
(20) Crawley (1993). The role of breakfast cereals in the diets of 16-17 year old teenagers in Britain. Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietetics 6: 205-216
(21) Stanton and Keast (1989). Serum cholesterol, fat intake and breakfast consumption in the United States adult population. J Am Coll Nutr 8: 567-572.