- Ad Age, Thursday, May 14, 2009 11 AM
Public sentiment so far is on the Cheerios side following the Food and Drug Administration's warning to General Mills of "serious violations" arising from Cheerios' cholesterol-reduction claims, Emily
Bryson York and Rich Thomaselli report. "It think the FDA got it wrong on this one," says supermarket expert Phil Lempert, who suggests that the Obama administration is doing some chest-pounding by
going after a major brand.
Although revamping packaging and its marketing message may cost GM millions, Lynn Dornblaser, director of consumer package goods insight at Mintel, points out
that it has already accomplished its mission. Consumers have gotten the message that whole grains are good for them, and the FDA complaint is not going to reverse that.
Peter Pitts, a
former FDA associate commissioner, tells
Ad Age that he spoke to two FDA insiders who told him that the warning letter originated from the Minneapolis field office and caught some senior
officials by surprise. Pitts, now director of global health care for Porter Novelli, says, "What upset FDA most about this is it makes them look foolish." In an e-mail, an agency spokeswoman says only
that FDA "warning letters speak for themselves."
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