Kellogg has announced that it’s going to start adding fiber to about 80% of its cereal product line, beginning with Froot Loops and Apple Jacks in August and continuing into other brands through the end of 2010. The goal is to bump up the fiber per serving to 3 grams, which is the amount the government requires to label a food a good source of fiber for kids.

Of course, the cereals will also remain a good source of sugar—adding fiber won’t change the rest of the nutritional package, so be sure to read the nutrition label and not just the “now with Fiber!” badge plastered on the front of the box.

Fearing a clampdown by the Obama administration, “Companies that make highly processed foods are looking for ways to make them look less processed,” adds Tom Vierhile, director of Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics. “Besides, consumers perceive more fiber as good for you.”

Adding fiber alone won’t make a product better, says Michael Jacobson, director of the consumer group, Center for Science in the Public Interest. “You can gussie up any product by adding fiber and vitamins,” he says, but says what consumers need to check for are added sugars, sodium and dyes.

Still, we think John Harvey Kellogg would be proud to see that nearly all of the breakfast cereals produced by his brother’s company will soon be as concerned about bowel movements as he was.

“Kellogg adds fiber, hoping to bowl cereal consumers over” [USA Today]
(Toilet photo: mararie)

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