Why does Europe specifically exclude blue Froot Loops? And what's Canada's problem
with Vitamin C? Here's why you won't find some of your favorite cereals abroad.
Compared to other standbys in the cereal aisle, Honey Bunches of Oats from Post is a relatively
new addition, but has become one of the brand's top sellers. Vernon J. Herzing was working for
Post when he created this sweet and nutty cereal by combining a variety of existing cereals. After
spending three years in the developing stage, Herzing's creation was named Honey Bunches
of Oats and hit stores in 1989, where it wasn't just marketed to kids, but to the entire family.
"Crispy crunchy bunches - for breakfast,
brunch and lunch. To fill your bags and tote - with Honey Bunches of Oats!"
Judging by its ingredients, it seems like a healthy enough
breakfast choice – that is until you take a closer look. Like many processed foods,
the list of ingredients starts off with what you'd expect, with corn, whole grain wheat,
sugar, and rolled oats. But if you read on, you'll start to see items that are a little
puzzling. One such ingredient is BHT, short for, butylated hydroxytoluene, followed by the words,
quote, "added to preserve freshness." It seems harmless enough — unless you live in
a country where consuming the preservative BHT is highly restricted by law. The E.U.,
and many other countries have given a collective thumbs down to this carcinogen because eating
it has been known to cause tumors in the body and hinder blood clotting.
Post continues to make cereals that will never see the inside of many international grocery
stores due to other nations' stance against BHT in food. Honey Maid S'mores cereal, a decadent flavor
punch inspired by the timeless campfire treat, was introduced in 2017. Yes, it was modeled after
actual s'mores, but it looks more like a mix of Golden Grahams and Cocoa Puffs with some kernels
of marshmallow thrown in. The cereal was initially sold as a Walmart exclusive, which was fitting
because discount superstores and chemical-laden processed foods are quintessentially American.
Yes, Honey Maid S'mores cereal also counts BHT among its ingredients, but is BHT really so bad?
Well, studies show that BHT is a corrosive additive that harms the liver, kidneys,
and lungs over time and can irritate skin. In the 1990s, scientific studies on BHT gained ground in
Europe and other parts of the world, eventually leading many countries to prohibit its widespread
use in common food items like potato chips, chewing gum, and breakfast cereals. Seeing that
Honey Maid S'mores is a new creation and hasn't reached the heritage status of other cereals,
Post does not modify the recipe in order for it to be sold on an international scale.
Many countries permit small quantities of artificial food dyes as long as there's a
label on the front of the food package that warns of their potentially adverse effects. However,
countries like Japan see things a little differently, as it has an outright ban
on yellow No. 6 as an additive in food, though other countries are also aware of their danger.
"The EU banned these artificial colors after scientific research indicted
they could be harmful to health, especially to young children."
That spells trouble for quite a few cereals – most notably, Lucky Charms. One of the best-selling
cereals in the United States, much of Lucky Charms' popularity has to do with its marshmallow
pieces and children's fondness for eating rainbows, pots of gold, and shamrock hats that
turned the milk the color of an Easter egg. Cereal is not as popular of a breakfast choice in Japan
as it is in the U.S., so rather than modify the ingredients to suit Japanese standards, General
Mills just does not sell it there at all. The silver lining? Lucky Charms does not contain BHT.
For your average American kid, Count Chocula cereal is nothing short of a delicacy. It's
sort of the all-chocolate, haunted version of Lucky Charms. If for some reason spooktacular
chocolatey cereal isn't your thing, there are a few different monster themed alternatives:
Boo Berry and Franken Berry are available widely, with limited releases of Frute Brute,
Fruity Yummy Mummy, and a new 2023 character, Carmella Creeper. That is, of course, as long as
you don't reside in Canada. If you do, you'll have to hope you can find some come Halloween season.
Unlike other cereals on our list, Count Chocula isn't pretending to be healthy when it isn't —
it's just another sugar bomb enticing children in the cereal aisle. The Environmental Working Group,
or EWG, analyzes thousands of processed foods, and they rate Count Chocula a 7 out of 10 on its scale
of concern, with 10 being the worst score. That's better than other cereals can say, but Canada is
reluctant to give the Count, Boo Berry, or Franken Berry a full green light. Even in October, these
cereals are not easy to come by. When Canadian stores do offer them, they tend to sell out fast.
At a glance, most shoppers look at a box of Post Shredded Wheat and assume that its unsweet,
natural-colored simplicity means that it has some kind of nutritional benefit. Phrases on
the box saying the cereal is doctor-recommended or a great way to get your daily dose of fiber
help to play up Shredded Wheat's healthiness. No, these aren't lies, but they are slight diversion
tactics. Turn that box to the side, and you'll see just two ingredients: whole-grain wheat and BHT.
It's baffling why Post would insist on using BHT in such a basic cereal. Post Shredded Wheat
is not sold in many other countries even though this type of cereal is popular all
over the world. On its website, Post states that its cereals are distributed in Canada,
Mexico, Central and South America, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. The most glaring
omission from this list is Europe. Other cereal conglomerates like Kellogg's and General Mills
go the extra mile to omit unnatural vitamin fortifications, questionable preservatives,
and synthetic food coloring in order to continue doing business in Europe.
"Many food companies decided instead to remove the synthetic dyes, reformulating
the recipes there, but continuing to sell the old versions here."
Kellogg's also favors the preservative powers of BHT,
but General Mills is starting to step away from it, preferring to use vitamin E instead.
Judging by its name, Apple Jacks seems like it would be brimming with rustic apple flavor,
but that isn't really the case with this cereal. Rather, it is known for its bright
green and orange O's that look anything but natural. Apple Jacks draws its vibrancy from
the big four manufactured dyes: red No. 40, blue No. 1, yellow No. 5, and yellow No. 6.
The inclusion of yellow No. 6 means that Apple Jacks is a no-go in Japan. It appears that Apple
Jacks is not too popular in foreign countries to begin with, so being banned in Japan might
not be that big of a blow. Kellogg's websites for the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Germany, and Australia
all sell a slightly different selection of the brand's signature cereals, but Apple Jacks is not
included among any of them — which is interesting because even the American version is BHT free.
Corn Flakes is the grandaddy of cold cereal. It was created in 1906 and is
the original Kellogg's product. Since it goes so far back and looks plain,
Corn Flakes often gets labeled as one of the healthier cereals, but in reality,
it turns out that not every country is a Corn Flake Girl at heart
In 2004, Corn Flakes and Special K were banned in Denmark for containing high levels of vitamin
fortification that could damage the kidney and liver functions of children if they ate the
cereal regularly. Kellogg's ended up tweaking the ingredients so the cereal could be sold throughout
Europe, while the heavily vitamin-enriched version continued to sell in America. More recently,
Mexican authorities seized hundreds of thousands of Corn Flakes boxes in conjunction with a new
law banning cartoon mascots from peddling overly sugary food to impressionable kids.
The first Latin American country to pass the anti-mascot law was Chile, and in 2018 Mexico
followed suit. Of all the mascots to be banned for influencing children, it's a little surprising
that the Corn Flakes rooster was targeted, as it lacks the wild-eyed, chatter-box attributes
of other cereal mascots. But the fact that it's an animation signaling consumers to start their
morning off right with a bowl of Corn Flakes is misleading in the eyes of some lawmakers.
"Nothing gets you crowing in the morning like the crisp, corn taste of Kellogg's Corn Flakes."
Cap'n Crunch is one of those emblematic American cereals that many people recognize, but these
days, Cap'n Crunch's ingredient list reads like a cautionary tale. Even without the crunch berries,
the cereal still contains BHT and yellow No. 5 and yellow No. 6. Based on these ingredients,
Cap'n Crunch's influence has not reached European shores,
but once Chile and Mexico agreed to collectively ban all junk food mascots, the Cap'n was ousted,
and the cereal box was plastered with stickers warning of its excess calories, sodium, and sugar.
It's a little strange to see the once friendly Cap'n's face obscured by
colored tape in Mexico and Chile as if he is some kind of dirty secret.
Kellog's Froot Loops originally came in just three colors: red, orange, and yellow. This remained
the case for decades — until the '90s, when foods aimed at children were often saturated with bright
dyes in order to make them look more fun to eat. Kellogg's jumped on the trend and brought blue and
green loops into the mix. American Froot Loops rely on red No. 40, yellow No. 5, yellow No. 6,
and blue No. 1 to achieve such eye-popping color. There is also some BHT thrown in for freshness.
Nations like Australia, New Zealand, England, and the E.U. sell Froot Loops
but in addition to nixing the BHT, they leave out all that '90s-era food coloring,
which has a scientific reputation for its link to allergies and hyperactivity in kids. Europe,
Australia, and New Zealand permit the limited use of the food dyes found in
Froot Loops as long as the packaging comes with a warning label; they just prefer their Froot
Loops with more natural flavors. Due to the lack of a natural-looking blue alternative,
these countries prefer to omit blue Froot Loops altogether instead of using blue No. 1.
A box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the pantry was always welcome sight. Who didn’t love the
sweet squares swirled with cinnamon and dusted with sugar? The product first hit shelves in
1984 with a catchy commercial starring Chef Wendell, an aged baker with a toothy smile.
Chef Wendell retired in 2009 and was replaced by The Crazy Squares, but the ingredient list
was less susceptible to change. Every box produced for the U.S. market still contains
BHT to help preserve freshness. General Mills was fully aware that BHT's inclusion in Cinnamon
Toast Crunch prohibited its sale on most foreign grocery store shelves, so it pulled a few sneaky
strings. Unwilling to sacrifice cereal sales due to unlawful ingredients, General Mills skipped the
BHT, slapped a Nestlé label on the box and renamed Cinnamon Toast Crunch as Cini Minis. If it weren't
for the crazy eyes of The Crazy Squares staring at us from the front of the box, it would not be
immediately clear it was the same cereal. In some ways, it isn't the same. We're not sure if it's
the absence of BHT, but some consumers report that cini minis don't taste as well as the original.
Tons of cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals to help consumers meet the recommended
daily values and avoid deficiencies. However, fortified cereals are typically high in sugar and
extremely processed. This is certainly the case with General Mills' Cookie Crisp, but it isn't the
sugar content that caused this cereal to be banned in Canada; it's the vitamin C fortification.
Browse the nutritional information on a Cookie Crisp box in the U.S.,
and you'll see a lot of the usual suspects in the vitamins and minerals section,
as well as vitamin C. According to the official Food and Drug Relations guidelines in Canada,
breakfast cereal can only be fortified with specific vitamins and minerals, and vitamin C did
not make this list. Yet again, General Mills went the Nestlé route in Europe and sells a version of
Cookie Crisp without Vitamin C. Canadians who insist on having cookies for breakfast aren't
totally without options. In 2017, Post debuted Chips Ahoy! Cereal, and it is available in Canada.