It may be hard to hear for those of us who grew up on fortified breakfast cereals and tend to be sentimental about our old -- and possibly current -- favorites.
Nevertheless we need to face up to the fact that almost half of children eight years of age and younger in the United States are getting too much vitamin A, niacin and zinc from their morning cereal as well as from snack bars.
The Environmental Working Group has determined that this is the result of food fortification that is misguided, nutritional labeling that is obsolete, and marketing strategies that are meant to confuse kids and parents. The report can be read here.
Out of 1550 cereals and 1000 snack bars that were evaluated by EWG, 114 cereals were fortified with 30 percent or more of the Daily Value for adults for vitamin A, niacin and/or zinc.
It was also discovered that 27 snack bar brands were fortified with 50 percent or more of the Daily Value for adults of vitamin A, niacin, and/or zinc.
This can lead to health issues both long and short term.
Too much vitamin A can result in liver damage, hair loss and abnormalities of the skeleton. In pregnant women, fetal abnormalities can develop. Older Americans can end up with hip fractures and osteoporosis.
Too much zinc can hinder absorption of copper, cause immune dysfunction, and damage both red and white blood cells.
Data for this research came from the Nutrition Facts labels compiled by FoodEssentials.
The Environmental Working Group said that the federal labeling system in common use is based on Daily Values that are outmoded, dating from 1968. And these Daily Values were not determined for children but for adults at that time.
Ironically, this problematic over-fortification has been used as a selling point to encourage parents to buy these foods for their children.
The FDA is accepting comments from the public regarding potential changes to Nutrition Facts labels at the present time.
EWG strongly encourages the FDA to display percent Daily Values for specific age groups, and to set percent Daily Values in accordance with science.
They said that serving sizes should be updated realistically on Nutrition Fact labels.
Guidelines from 1980 on voluntary food forticiation should be brought up to date. Food manufacturers should not be allowed to misuse food fortification guidelines and nutrient content information.
In the meantime, The Environmental Working Group urges parents to cut back the consumption of these products by their children to 20-25 percent or less of the adult Daily Value for the three nutrients. Pregnant women and older adults are advised to restrict their intake of these foods.
Sources:
Excessive Vitamins And Minerals In Food Put Millions Of Children At Risk. EWG.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
http://www.ewg.org/release/excessive-vitamins-and-minerals-food-put-mill...
How Much is Too Much? EWG.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
http://www.ewg.org/research/how-much-is-too-much
Too Much of a Good Thing: Kids Get Too Many Vitamins and Minerals. Time.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
http://time.com/2917659/kids-get-too-many-vitamins/
Visit Jody's website at http://www.ncubator.ca
Reviewed June 26, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN