Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and cereal is the food of choice for many.  In the U.S., we consume over two billion boxes of cereal annually.  Cereal is not only consumed at breakfast as many also choose it as a snack.

Some perks of eating cereal at breakfast:

• Cereal can provide up to a third of your daily fiber needs.
• Cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals, therefore providing needed micronutrients in our daily intake.

In this lab, you will compare different dry cereals analyzing the amount of sugar, fiber, protein, and other nutrients in each.  You will also calculate sugar as a percentage of total carbohydrates.   Fiber content of each cereal will also be compared.

Objective: To make an informed choice between cereals using Nutrition Facts labels, ingredient lists, and noted health claims while deciding which one appears to be the healthiest.

Instructions:  You will be analyzing Nutrition Facts Labels for various dry cereals and recording nutrient data in the tables provided.  Using an online search engine (Google, Duck Duck Go, Bing, etc.), look up the provided cereals listed.  Walmart.com is also a great site to find product labels.  The actual product descriptions are provided, and it is important you find the same product (name and size) to have correct nutrient data and information.

Type in the exact name as below for each product followed by “nutrition facts” and you will get the nutrition information needed for this lab.  (Ex: General Mills Raisin Nut Bran nutrition facts)

*Nutrient information used should be for the dry cereal only and not with milk!

CEREALS

• General Mills Raisin Nut Bran (3/4 cup is a serving at 49 grams)
• General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios (1 cup is a serving at 37 grams)
• Kellogg’s Krave Chocolate (1 cup is a serving at 41 grams)
• Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries (1 cup is a serving at 39 grams)
• Kellogg’s Raisin Bran (1 cup is a serving at 59 grams)
• General Mills Fiber One Honey Clusters (1 cup is a serving at 54 grams)

You will record nutrient data for one serving and remember, NOT with milk!

*If there is nothing listed for a nutrient then state as “none listed”.

1. List the first five (5) ingredients of each food item:

IMPORTANT: Ingredients in parenthesis are part of one main ingredient and are not listed individually.  EX: milk chocolate (cocoa, sugar,…)  Only list the milk chocolate!

2. Look at the cereal label for any health claims noted on the label. If the product contains no health claims, then note “none listed”.

EX: “This cereal contains soluble fiber which may lower your cholesterol.”

3. Using the above nutrient data, compare the cereals based on fiber and added sugar in each. Do cereals with higher amounts of fiber contain less ADDED sugar or more?  Discuss!

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4. Calculate sugar as a percentage of total carbohydrate for each food item listed.

Calculation: % of total carbohydrate = grams of total sugar divided by grams of total carbohydrate x 100

EXAMPLE: 10 grams total sugar, 25 grams carbohydrate

10 grams total sugar/25 grams carb = .40 x 100 = 40%

5. It is recommended that total sugar be less than 50% of total carbohydrate. Which of the cereals meets that recommendation?

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6. Use the nutrient data, ingredients, calculations, and health claims to choose which of the cereals would be the best choice for breakfast? Discuss your reasoning in detail!

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