Kellogg has agreed to pull a health claim it made on Rice Krispies in the US, the country’s advertising watchdog said yesterday.The cereal giant had advertised its Rice Krispies brand as helping “support your child’s immunity”.

However, after a probe by the Federal Trade Commission, Kellogg has agreed to not make claims about any potential health benefits unless it has scientific evidence, the watchdog said.

The deal is the second Kellogg has made with the FTC. Last year, the US food giant agreed to stop making a claim that its Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal was “clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20%”.

Kellogg was then barred from “making claims about the benefits to cognitive health, process, or function provided by any cereal or any morning food or snack food unless the claims were true and substantiated”.

However, the FTC said that Kellogg started to make the immunity claim on Rice Krispies “at about the same time” as it agreed to pull the ad for Frosties Mini-Wheaties.

“We expect more from a great American company than making dubious claims – not once, but twice – that its cereals improve children’s health,” said FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz.

“Next time, Kellogg needs to stop and think twice about the claims it’s making before rolling out a new ad campaign, so parents can make the best choices for their children.”

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