Kellogg Drops Immunity Claim

In case you missed the news, Kellogg (K) announced on Wednesday that it would "phase out" claims on boxes of Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies that the cereals boost children's immunity to disease.

"It's a cold environment for food marketers trying to make health claims," Advertising Age concluded, perhaps somewhat prematurely, given that plenty of foods still claim, for example, that they are low in fat while not mentioning how high in sugar or calories they are. Maybe better to say it's a cold environment for truly insane health claims like this one.

Kellogg is reacting not only to widespread media ridicule, but to threats both explicit and implicit from government officials. But the company says it's doing it "given the public attention to H1N1" (which is sort of beside the point).

To save face, Kellogg continues to insist that "science shows" that the addition of a few vitamins "helps boost a child's immunity." The company's statement, like the initial label claim, made no mention of bananas or carrots and how much better they are than Cocoa Krispies as vitamin-delivery vehicles.