I was running through the grocery store, as all mothers do, on one of those blessed trips sans kid this morning and I decided to take a trip down the cereal aisle.  You know, Where Tantrums Happen. ™  It’s the best chance I have to see what’s on sale without having to cave into pressure to buy what’s not on sale while my son holds my eardrums, sanity and my reputation in the community hostage.

Of course, I noticed the above.  Personally, I hate Cocoa Krispies.  If I want to drink chocolate milk, I’ll do so.  But to sell a cereal with an added sugar content of 40% (“Here, honey.  Let me save you the trouble.  Have the sugar bowl for breakfast.  No, don’t worry about the spoon.  Just stick your face in.”) just sends my mothering sensibilities into a complete tailspin.

But now, Cocoa Krispies is now offering to support your child’s immunity!  That’s right, parents.  In a flu season of uncertainty and fear, Kellogg’s has decided to get your attention to try to get you to buy their cereal the old fashioned way – by scaring you.  

From a marketing standpoint, it’s genious.  We parents have had our anti-swine flu and cold meters turned to hypersensitive the past few months thanks to the media and whenever we see certain code words like “immunity,” some of us are sure to jump right on it.  Little Johnny and Julie can now fight swine flu with bowls and bowls of immunity boosting Cocoa Krispies!  Nevermind the sugar rush, kids!  Keep eating and fighting those nasty germs into oblivion!

This is not the first time that Kelloggs has added dubious claims to their cereal boxes.  Earlier this year, they ran afoul of the Federal Trade Commission for claiming that their Frosted Mini Wheats were “clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by 20%”.  The FTC slapped Kelloggs hands, saying that those claims were “false and violated federal law.” In fact, the study that Kelloggs quoted on their boxes showed that the children who ate the cereal for breakfast averaged just under 11 percent better in attentiveness, by comparison, and that relatively few were nearly 20 percent more attentive.  The claims were ordered removed from boxes and Kelloggs was ordered to provide more substantive proof for their cereal box claims in the future.

Makes me wonder how long before the Special K hits the fan with these immunity claims.

Of course, you can claim immunity in a number of ways.  Eating good, well balanced meals is one way.  Making sure that kids get lots of exercise is another.  But for a cereal company to claim in big, bold type that it helps support my kids’ immunity when they’re only providing 25% of his RDA of vitamin A,B,C and E with 12 grams of sugar from a ¾ cup serving seems a bit of a stretch.  Especially during a time when swine flu fear is so rampant.

But if they want to help my kid win Survivor so we can get a million dollars, I’ll start buying the stuff by the truckload.