Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he has launched an investigation into Kellogg’s for possible violations of the state’s consumer protection laws.
While the cereal giant advertises its products as “healthy,” some of its cereals are “filled with petroleum-based artificial food colorings that have been linked to hyperactivity, obesity, autoimmune disease, endocrine-related health problems, and cancer in those who consume them,” Paxton’s office described. Cereals involved in the investigation include Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes, and Rice Krispies.
The cereals contain artificial food colorings despite Kellogg’s claiming it would remove the dyes.
“A critical part of fighting for our children’s future is putting an end to companies’ deceptive practices that are aimed at misleading parents and families about the health of food products,” Paxton said in a statement. “Artificial food colorings have been shown to have disastrous impacts on health, and in no world should foods that include these dyes be advertised as ‘healthy.’ There will be accountability for any company, including Kellogg’s, that unlawfully makes misrepresentations about its food and contributes to a broken health system that has made Americans less healthy.”
Kellogg’s, alongside other major food companies, was involved in a lawsuit last year alleging that it intentionally designed products to be addictive. Food companies, such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé, General Mills, PepsiCo, Conagra, Kellanova, Kraft Heinz, Mars, Mondelez International, Post Holdings, and WK Kellogg Co., have products that “dominate the shelves of our grocery stores,” the lawsuit says, including ultra-processed foods (UPF). These foods are “inventions of modern industrial technology and contain little to no whole food.”
According to the lawsuit, the defendants’ marketing “targeted children, including Plaintiff, with unfair and deceptive messages regarding their UPF.”
