My Great Grandfather Founded Kellogg’s – I Urge Americans to Boycott Froot Loops Due to Toxic Ingredients
A woman who claims to be an heiress to cereal giant Kellogg’s has urged people to boycott the company over its use of ingredients linked to cancer.
Victoria Kellogg – who claims to be the great-great-great-granddaughter of the company’s founder – has accused Kellogg’s of “betraying” her family’s original vision.
The company is facing increasing pressure to remove colors and flavors linked to cancer, ADHD and migraines.
Froot Loops and Apple Jacks in particular have been vandalized because the American versions contain many ingredients that are banned in Europe, Canada and Australia.
Victoria said in an interview with anti-junk food campaigner Vani Hari: ‘I would absolutely boycott Kellogg’s.
‘[The founder’s] The intention was to help people, and now people are getting really sick and that’s really sad.”
She added, “I hope Kellogg’s lives up to my family’s legacy and simply does the right thing: removing food colorings from their products.”
Victoria – who also has vaccine-skeptical views – says she is related on her father’s side to Will Keith Kellogg, who founded the company in Michigan in 1906.
Victoria Kellogg (below) was interviewed by Vani Hari about her views on the company’s use of food colorings and additives. The selection above comes from the interview
The American arm of the company is worth $1.5 billion today.
Victoria said she has since spoken to a number of cousins who were “surprised” by her actions but “supportive.”
Several Kellogg’s cereals contain additives that are banned or restricted in Europe, Canada and Australia, including Apple Jacks and Froot Loops, where the cereals are made with fewer harmful ingredients.
For example, US Froot Loops contain Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, which have been linked to cancer, tumors and hyperactivity in children.
Apple Jacks contain Blue 1, which has also been linked to hyperactivity and kidney tumors in mice.
From the image above, it appears that the US version of Rainbow Krispies contains a number of ingredients that are banned or restricted in Europe
Victoria is only the latest to join the growing push by Kellogg’s to remove the chemicals from its products.
Actress Eva Mendes also revealed that she ‘won’t eat Kellogg’s again’ after learning about the additives.
Victoria said in the interview with Ms Hari: ‘I would absolutely boycott Kellogg’s.
“I’m willing to lose money on this if people are safe. Money isn’t everything in life, but when you’re sick in bed and your kids are sick in bed all their lives because they have health problems, money doesn’t really matter.
‘[The founder’s] The intention was to help people, and now people are getting really sick and that’s really sad.”
She added: “They should apologize for taking a false vow and correct their mistake.
The same was true of Froot Loops, which a former FDA food chief previously branded as Europe’s worst cereal.
Ms. Hari is leading efforts to get Kellogg’s to update its practices. She has also launched a petition that has attracted more than 400,000 signatures
Ms. Hari is leading a movement aimed at getting Kellogg’s to remove the potentially harmful dyes from their grains.
She has spoken to the Senate about the issue and has also started a petition calling on Kellogg’s to make the change – which now has more than 400,000 signatures.
Ms Hari told DailyMail.com: ‘Kellogg’s voluntarily removed their artificial food colorings from their cereals in Europe because they had to put a cigarette warning on their products.
“So to me, they are liable, knowing that they are harming children, but continuing to use these ingredients in America.
“I think every American should boycott Kellogg’s until they make these changes.”
Kellogg’s has been silent on social media since late October under increasing pressure from its campaign.
In a TikTok video the company posted in September, the company was flooded with comments from the public asking when it would remove additives from its breakfast cereals.
One viewer asked: ‘Are you CEOs eating the European version or the American version?’, and a second added: ‘Can we get the European version?’
Red 40 is a synthetic food coloring made from petroleum.
Europe restricted its use in 2010 after a study found it caused hyperactivity in children, requiring companies that use it to put a cigarette pack warning on their products.
Actress Eva Mendes took to Instagram last week to call on Kellogg’s to remove “harmful” food dyes and additives from its breakfast cereals
The above compares Apple Jacks sold in the US and Australia, showing that in America they use many ingredients not found in the version on the other side of the Pacific
Froot Loops have been criticized in the US for the number of additives they contain, which are restricted or banned in other countries
The Cleveland Clinic says the dye has also been linked to irritability and depression, skin irritation, migraines and has been suggested to have caused tumors in animals exposed to very high doses.
Pictured above is Kellogg’s founder, Will Keith Kellogg
It has not yet been banned in the US, but California will ban products containing the dye from its schools by December 2027.
Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 are made from coal tar and are used to give food a bright and ‘appetizing’ bright yellow color.
Some studies have also linked it to hyperactivity in children, and human studies have also suggested that it may damage the DNA in white blood cells and increase the risk of tumor formation.
A 2019 study also found that high concentrations of Yellow 5 administered to flies caused them to die.
European regulators require foods containing Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 to carry a warning label, but no such restrictions exist in the US.
Blue 1 is now made from oils, although initially it was also made from coal tar and used to give them a brilliant blue.
It has also been linked to hyperactivity in children and is banned in Europe. In the US, no such restrictions exist.
