Peanut and tree nut allergies are sneaky and can be life-threatening, which is why foods that might have even traces of them are supposed to have declarations on their packages. Two different companies, Cascadian Farms and Whole Foods, have recalled cinnamon raisin granola and raisin bran respectively, because they may be contaminated with different nuts for very different reasons. [More]
general mills
General Mills Bringing Back “Vibrant” Trix, Including Artificial Flavors & Colors
By 9.21.17
Two years ago, General Mills joined other food companies by declaring it would cut artificial flavors and colors from all of its cereals. But some customers actually like those additives, at least in their Trix. To that end: The company is making the ultimate “throwback Thursday” offering by announcing it will once again offer Trix with artificial colors and flavors. [More]
Someone Sued Because ‘Natural’ Nature Valley Granola Bars Contain Common Pesticide
By 7.18.17
Although the term “natural” is not defined by the federal government — allowing basically any food company to slap it on a product’s label — a judge has decided that General Mills’ use of the term to describe granola bars that contain herbicide is not deceptive. [More]
Small Bakery Changes Name After Legal Threat From Pillsbury Doughboy’s Lawyer
By 6.13.17
A small bakery that hasn’t even been open for a year is already having to spend thousands of dollars to change its name after General Mills took issue with the shop’s use of the term “doughboy.” [More]
Honey Nut Cheerios Bee Goes Missing To Highlight Vanishing Bee Colonies
By 3.9.17
If you were to go down your cereal aisle and see all the cartoon bees on the boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios replaced with white voids in an effort to highlight the problem with the decreasing bee population, you might think it was some sort of protest art project instead of a campaign being run by one of the world’s largest packaged food companies.
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CDC Concludes General Mills Flour Investigation, But People Will Still Get Sick
By 9.30.16
You might remember the General Mills flour recall from earlier this year, where a massive amount of flour was recalled because it was potentially contaminated with E. coli, bacteria found in feces and in soil that can cause bloody diarrhea and life-threatening complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that its investigation of the outbreak is over, but that people will keep getting sick. [More]
Lawsuits Claim “100% Natural” Label On Nature Valley Granola Bars Is Deceptive
By 8.25.16
What exactly constitutes a “100% natural” food is a matter of much debate, but four new lawsuits argue that granola shouldn’t claim to be 100% natural because if contain small amounts of a common pesticide.
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Here We Go Again: Even More Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Foods
By 8.5.16
It’s August, and we all know what that means: it’s time for the hot new pumpkin spice products for this fall to hit the aisles and confuse everyone. This year’s hot newcomers are pumpkin spice offerings from cereal companies, with the apparent goal of pumpkin spicing up America’s breakfast tables. [More]
General Mills Flour Recall Expands, Linked To Four More Illnesses
By 7.26.16
Nearly two months after General Mills first recalled flour linked to an E. coli outbreak, leading to hundreds of products being pulled from shelves in stores and homes, the company once again expanded the recall after four additional illnesses were linked to the outbreak. [More]
CDC Figured Out The General Mills Flour Recall Because Some People Leave Flour In Bags
By 6.28.16
When you buy a new bag of flour, what do you do? Do you dump the bag out into a bin or canister in your kitchen, or do you scoop it out of the bag it came in? Both methods work fine, but it was the members of Team Bag who helped the Food and Drug Administration solve the mystery of a recent nationwide E. coli outbreak. [More]
General Mills Calling Its First New Cereal In 15 Years “Tiny Toast”
By 6.7.16
General Mills has taken a few steps back from the cereal industry in the new millennium, putting its breakfast focus on other things like yogurt and meal bars. In its first cereal attempt since 2001, the company is coming back to the bowl with Tiny Toast, which is not to be confused with its new big brother, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. [More]
General Mills Recalls Flour Possibly Linked To E. coli Illnesses
By 5.31.16
While you might associate infection with E. coli bacteria with meat and sometimes fresh vegetables, the bacteria can turn up in some unexpected places. Like flour. Yes, investigators checking out a multi-state E. coli outbreak have potentially linked it to flour from General Mills sold under its own labels and store brands. [More]
Mars Will Also Label Its Products With GMO-Related Info
By 3.21.16
Following the recent failure of a Senate bill that would have made it voluntary for companies to label genetically modified ingredients, another packaged food biggie is agreeing to hop on the GMO-labeling bandwagon. This time, it’s snack superpower Mars Inc. [More]
General Mills Will Label GMO Products; Calls For National Labeling Standard
By 3.18.16
Earlier this week, the Senate narrowly shot down a piece of legislation that would have created a voluntary national standard for labeling food products containing genetically modified ingredients while also overturning any state laws mandating GMO labels. With that bill dead, it means Vermont’s label mandate is on track to kick in this summer, so General Mills has decided to comply, while still calling for national consensus. [More]
Chobani Can’t Run Ads Claiming Other Greek Yogurt Products Contain Bug Spray, Chlorine
By 1.29.16
A federal court has ordered the makers of Chobani Greek yogurt to stop running a series of new ads that claim similar products from Dannon and Yoplait contain insecticides and chlorine. [More]
General Mills Sues Chobani For Advertising That Yoplait Contains “Bug Spray”
By 1.12.16
If you’re going to casually advertise that your competitor’s product contains an insecticide, you should probably expect to get sued. Just ask the lawyers at General Mills, who are none to happy about Chobani ads claiming that Yoplait’s competing yogurt contains a product used to “kill bugs.”
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Nestlé Pledges To Use Only Cage-Free Eggs By 2020
By 12.22.15
The list of major food companies and restaurants pledging to only use cage-free eggs in the future grew by one today: Nestlé announced a new goal of only using cage-free eggs in its wide array of products by 2020. [More]
Maybe Americans Are Eating Cereal Again After All
By 12.17.15
Earlier this year, we reported that the cereal business in the United States is hurting, possibly because of protein-mania and Americans switching to other breakfast foods. One company that began to see signs of trouble was Cheerios-maker General Mills, which managed to cut costs and follow current food trends, boosting its profits. [More]
