Madam, - I write in response to Shane Hegarty's feature "Pop goes the healthy ad slogan" ( Weekend Review, October 13th), which refers to information on our website regarding one of our most popular brands, Kellogg's Coco Pops.
Mr Hegarty claims our website highlights how much of a child's daily allowance of vitamins and calcium in an average serving of Coco Pops, but does not mention its sugar content. He is mistaken in this assertion.
Our website conveys this information, as does every pack of cereal on the front of the box. This labelling is not required by legislation but Kellogg's adds it voluntarily, in line with consumers' wishes. We have a policy of publicising nutritional information on all our products as widely as possible. In 2005, we introduced GDA (Guideline Daily Amount) labels on the front of our packs to specify the calories, sugar, fat and salt per serving. This information is prominently available on our website www.kelloggs.ie.
As it happens, a bowl of Coco Pops contains the equivalent of just two teaspoons of sugar, which is less than the amount of sugar typically found in two slices of toast and jam. This makes up only 12 per cent of the recommended Guideline Daily Amount of sugar.
Recent research by the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance has shown that breakfast cereals are the most nutrient-dense breakfast foods available and contribute less than 5 per cent of the sugar and salt in children's diets. More significantly, the year-long study showed that many Irish children are missing important vitamins and minerals, a problem that may be significantly reduced by including breakfast cereals in their daily diets.
This serious message formed a major strand of Kellogg's "Wake up to Breakfast" campaign here in Ireland, which was supported and endorsed by prominent nutritionists and dieticians. We are proud to offer a wide choice of products to consumers and we make certain that robust scientific fact underpins all of our health claims. - Yours, etc,
BEVERLEY POSTMA, Kellogg's Ireland, 7 St John's Court, Swords Road, Santry, Dublin 9.