Course:FNH200/Assignments/2024/Cheerios - Honey Nut v.s. Multigrain

Introduction

Honey Nut Cheerios and Multigrain Cheerios

Honey Nut Cheerios is a popular and common breakfast cereal using the "Cheerios" brand and style of cereal, in the flavour of honey and almonds. The alternative, released by the Cheerios brand, is the Multigrain Cheerios, which have multiple grains used to make the cereal, and is a kosher, oil-free alternative to the standard branch.

Images of the products

Image 1: Honey Nut Cheerios

Image 2: Multigrain Cheerios

Image 3: Ingredients & Nutrition Facts of Honey Nut Cheerios

Image 4: Ingredients & Nutrition Facts of Multigrain Cheerios

Ingredient lists

Honey Nut Cheerios	Multigrain Cheerios
Whole Grain oats	Whole grain oats
Sugars (sugar, honey, golden syrup)	Whole grain corn
Corn starch	Sugar (sugar and/or golden sugar, golden syrup)
Salt	Corn starch
Calcium Carbonate	Brown rice flour
High Monounsaturated canola	Salt
Canola and/or high monounsaturated sunflower oil	Calcium carbonate
Trisodium phosphate	Trisodium phosphate
Tocopherols (for freshness)	Monoglycerides
Natural Almond Flavour	Caramel and annatto (for colour)
Monoglycerides	Tocopherols (for freshness)
Vitamins and Minerals: Iron, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folate	Vitamins and Minerals: Iron, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folate
Contains: Oats, Almonds	Contains: Oats

Additives and Substitutes

	Honey Nut Cheerios	Multigrain Cheerios
Sugar Substitues	None	None
Fat Substitutes	None	None
Additives	Monoglyceride Trisodium Phosphate Calcium Carbonate Tocopherols	Monoglyceride Trisodium Phosphate Calcium Carbonate Tocopherols Colors

Honey Nut Cheerios

Additives:

Monoglyceride

• Monoglycerides are a chemical food additive derived through distillation of animal fat or vegetable oil. They primarily act as an emulsifier, blending oil and water together, but are also used for stabilisation, improvements to food texture and for extending shelf life in smaller quantities by controlling the separation of oil from the product. They are commonly used in a variety of dairy, bread and some meat products.

Trisodium phosphate

• Trisodium phosphate is a group of food additives derived from phosphorus. They are created by mixing varying amounts of sodium and inorganic phosphate. It is used to decrease acidity and improve texture of foods and also to increase shelf life. They are used commonly in baked goods and meats. It acts as a stablizing agent, which stablizes cereal's structure and crunchiness, especially when they mixed with liquid (like milk).

Calcium Carbonate

• Calcium carbonate is a naturally occurring calcium salt, extracted from natural products like egg shells or synthesized from limestone. It is added to food as an antacid, phosphate binder, or dietary supplement. For cereal, calcium carbonate is used as an anticaking agent. They are commonly found in baked goods, fortified beverages and sauces. It has better ability of absorb water, which help it to act as an anti-caking agent to prevent clumps happening.

Tripotassium Phosphate

• Tripotassium phosphate is a powerful cleaning agent, added in small amounts to adjust the acidity of the cereal. While consuming it in small amounts is safe, consuming too much of this additive may lead to unhealthy amounts of phosphorus. The maximum amount for Tripotassium Phosphate to add into cheese product is 3.5%. In Multigrain Cheerios, it has 8% of phosphorus (100mg) per serving size of 30g. In Honey Nuts Cheerios, it has 10% of phosphorus(100mg) per serving size of 39g. Phosphorus can be used to calculate tripotassium phosphate in the product.

Tocopherols

• Tocopherols as a class 4 food additives, a primary natural resource for Vitamin E. It can be found in oils (especially olive oil) and nuts and is extracted from those sources. As a additive, it is used as antioxidants for food. As shown in the ingredients, it also bring freshness to the cereal and prevents lipid oxidation.

Multigrain Cheerios

Fat Substitutes: None

Monoglyceride

• Monoglycerides are a chemical food additive derived through distillation of animal fat or vegetable oil. They primarily act as an emulsifier, blending oil and water together, but are also used for stabilisation, improvements to food texture and for extending shelf life in smaller quantities by controlling the separation of oil from the product. They are commonly used in a variety of dairy, bread and some meat products.

Trisodium phosphate

• Trisodium phosphate is a group of food additives derived from phosphorus. They are created by mixing varying amounts of sodium and inorganic phosphate. It is used to decrease acidity and improve texture of foods and also to increase shelf life. They are used commonly in baked goods and meats. It acts as a stablizing agent, which stablizes cereal's structure and crunchiness, especially when they mixed with liquid (like milk).

Calcium Carbonate

• Calcium carbonate is a naturally occurring calcium salt, extracted from natural products like egg shells or synthesized from limestone. It is added to food as an antacid, phosphate binder, or dietary supplement. For cereal, calcium carbonate is used as an anticaking agent. They are commonly found in baked goods, fortified beverages and sauces. It has better ability of absorb water, which help it to act as an anti-caking agent to prevent clumps happening.

Tripotassium Phosphate

• Tripotassium phosphate is a powerful cleaning agent, added in small amounts to adjust the acidity of the cereal. While consuming it in small amounts is safe, consuming too much of this additive may lead to unhealthy amounts of phosphorus. The maximum amount for Tripotassium Phosphate to add into cheese product is 3.5%. In Multigrain Cheerios, it has 8% of phosphorus (100mg) per serving size of 30g. In Honey Nuts Cheerios, it has 10% of phosphorus(100mg) per serving size of 39g. Phosphorus can be used to calculate tripotassium phosphate in the product.

Tocopherols

• Tocopherols as a class 4 food additives, a primary natural resource for Vitamin E. It can be found in oils (especially olive oil) and nuts and is extracted from those sources. As a additive, it is used as antioxidants for food. As shown in the ingredients, it also bring freshness to the cereal and prevents lipid oxidation.

Color (caramel colour, annatto extract)

• Caramel colour is produced under heating(high temperature) sugar, which is used to enhance ​​colour stability and flavour.

• Annatto extract is a natural food additive, used to create an orange-red colour in food. It has also been noted to have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. It is extracted from the outer layer of the seeds from the Bixa orellana L tree and its principal pigment is a carotenoid. It is added in a large variety of foods, from jams, grain products and dairy products.

Compare and Contrast

For the ingredients table that provided above is the same order as the products. Honey Nut Cheerios contain more added sugar compared with Multigrain one, because sugar is higher in the ingredients list for Honey Nut Cheerios compared to Multigrain Cheerios. The Honey Nut Cheerios contains approximately 0.3 grams of sugar per gram of Cheerios, while the Multigrain contains 0.2 grams of sugar per gram of Cheerios. The higher sugar content in Honey Nut Cheerios is likely due to the fact it is marketed as containing honey, so extra sweetness is not unexpected, meanwhile Multigrain Cheerios are meant as a kosher alternative and thus should contain less sugar. As well as containing less sugar, Multigrain Cheerios also contain less fat per gram (0.05g of fat in Honey Nut versus 0.03g in the Multigrain), and more protein (0.13g in the Multigrain versus 0.07g in the Honey Nut), however not all of these differences are immediately apparent as the serving size stated on the two packages varies (39g on the Honey Nut package and 30g on the Multigrain package), thus consumers need to do calculations to find out the exact difference. For example, the serving size difference makes the Multigrain Cheerios on first glance appear to contain half the fat as the Honey Nut Cheerios, which is not true.

Alongside this, the Multigrain Cheerios list whole grain corn as the second ingredient compared to the Honey Nut cheerios, which means it has higher content of whole grains to compare with Honey Nut cheerios. Finally, the Honey Nut Cheerios also contains high monounsaturated canola and sunflower oil, compared with no oil in the Multigrain Cheerios, meaning there is less fats and saturated fats overall for the multigrain version.

Honey Nut Cheerios also has no colour additives, while the Multigrain uses caramel and annatto colour additives to ensure a specific product appearance. The Honey Nut Cheerios also has 30 more calories compared to the Multigrain variation. Both kinds of Cheerios added tocopherols to extend the product’s shelf life, monoglyceride as an emulsifier, tripotassium phosphate as agent to add acidity and calcium carbonate as an anti-thickening agents. The vitamins and minerals contained in both products were also identical, however the %DV varies across both products due to differing concentrations of ingredients. Finally, the Honey Nut Cheerios contains an additional potential allergen, almonds, that the Multigrain does not have. This extra ingredient was added as the nut component in Honey Nut Cheerios and is used for flavouring.

Labels

	Honey Nut Cheerios v.s. Multigrain Cheerios
Common Name	It is commonly known as Honey Nut Cheerios and Multigrain Cheerios
Bilingualism	Both of the products contain both English and French since it is a product of the USA but processed by the business corporation located in Canada.
Country of Origin	United States of America
Date Marking & Storage Instructions	The best before date is printed on the top of the box packaging. There is no storage instructions labeled on the box packaging.
Name & Principal Place of Business	The principal place of business is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. For Canadian products, they are handled by General Mills Canada Corporation located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Legibility & Location	The labels are available in both English and French and both of the products are assessable across grocery stores.
Net Quantity	The net weight for Honey Nut Cheerios is 430 g and for Multigrain Cheerios is 342 g. The label is declared on both front and back of the packaging of both Honey Nut and Multigrain Cheerios.
Nutrition Facts	The table contains required nutritional information such as calories, fat (saturated fat and trans fat), protein, carbohydrate, fibre, sugar, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, and vitamin A and C.
Irradiation	Both of the products are not irradiated, so it is not listed on the packaging.
List of Ingredients and Allergens	For allergens, the Honey Nut Cheerios contains oats and almonds while the Multigrain Cheerios contains oats.
Sweeteners	Clearly identified in the ingredients list of both of the products, as shown in Image 3 and Image 4.
Food Additives	Clearly identified in the ingredients list of both of the products, as shown in Image 3 and Image 4.
Durable life date	Shelf life for cereal in general is 3 months opened, and 12 months unopened (This applies to both products mentioned). Additives such as monoglyceride, trisodium phosphate and calcium carbonate are added to cereal to extend shelf life and prevent significant change in product after exposure to the atmosphere and humidity.
Claims and Statements	For the Honey Nut Cheerios, it claims that it is made with real honey, using whole grains as the first main ingredients, as well as stating that one serving size (39 g) of the Honey Nut Cheerios provides 40% of the daily amount of that oat fibre which is shown to help lower cholesterol. For the Multigrain Cheerios, it has more claims than the Honey Nut Cheerios. It contains claims such as stating that the product is cholesterol free, whole grains as the first ingredients, contains 22 g of whole grains in one serving size, source of fibre, free of trans fat, no artificial colouring or flavouring, and contains 8 essential vitamins and minerals. According to Health Canada, the product must contain 2 g or more fibre per serving size in order to be claimed as a source of fibre.

Both products adhere to the regulatory requirements set by the various agencies in charge of setting and administering food-based regulation (Health Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Measurement Canada, British Columbia Ministry of Health, Municipal Government). Both products have accurate labelling, with products designed for humans, that do not promote themselves as treatments for any conditions of the human body. Claims made on the labelling of both products follow regulation and are appropriately labelled, and the nutritional labelling on the back of both products is also in compliance with the regulatory requirements set by the various agencies mentioned above.

References

This Food Science resource was created by Course:FNH200.