Under the FDA's updated criteria, highly sweetened cereals no longer qualify for a 'healthy' label.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by FDA's own consumer materials and multiple independent legal/industry analyses (FDLI, Arnold & Porter, Cooley) detailing the new added-sugar thresholds that exclude highly sweetened cereals from the 'healthy' claim.
Sources
- Mayo Clinic Minute: New rule for 'healthy' food labels (newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org)
- https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/advisories/2025/01/fdas-updated-definition-of-healthy (arnoldporter.com)
- https://www.fdli.org/2025/05/fda-final-rule-updates-the-healthy-nutrient-content-claim/ (fdli.org)
- https://www.cooley.com/news/insight/2025/2025-02-11-fda-publishes-rule-updating-healthy-nutrient-content-claim (cooley.com)
- https://www.fda.gov/media/184537/download (fda.gov)