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The Peanut Butter Cheerios controversy

January 12, 2012 @ 5:10 pm (Updated: 3:29 am - 1/13/12 )

What could be controversial about breakfast cereal?

CheeriosGeneral Mills, maker of several types of Cheerios, has a new variety "Peanut Butter Cheerios." Again, what's the problem?

Though the company has several flavors of the cereal, this is the first to contain peanuts. The others - Honey Nut Cheerios, Banana Nut Cheerios and Oat Cluster Cheerios Crunch - are all made with almonds. Peanuts can be the source of one of the most severe allergic reactions.

Last week, Ammaria Johnson, a seven-year-old Virginia girl, died after an allergic reaction at school. Police say she was given a peanut by another child unaware of her allergy. Johnson ate the peanut on the playground of her Chesterfield County elementary school during recess and stopped breathing.

At Issaquah High School, a student went into anaphylactic shock yesterday because the school cafeteria had kiwi on the menu, according to Q13 Fox news. That's a fruit she's allergic to, and she’s not just allergic to just eating them, but suffers even when exposed to the air surrounding them. Her parents have asked the school to ban the fruit from its menus.

Eight percent of US children have at least one food allergy. That's one out of every 13 children. A third of these children have multiple food allergies and 39 percent have experienced a life-threatening reaction, according to the journal Pediatrics.

Moms and dads have been chatting about their concerns on message boards. Some are worried about confusion in their own homes or at daycares. Cheerios are big with the toddler set.

General Mills doesn't think the parents' concerns about Peanut Butter Cheerios are legitimate. In an email, the company states the boxes look different and their processors uses "the most stringent allergen control practices in the industry."

"The box might be different, but the cereal itself is hard to distinguish from the original. This issue is especially troubling to be because Cheerios are so often carted in baggies by toddlers who share them freely," says Lydia Williams, Seattle parent to a child with peanut allergies.

Is it the company’s responsibility to ensure that kids are protected? And if Peanut Butter Cheerios should be considered dangerous, as some parents are suggesting, what about plain old peanut butter? To respond to that "direct threat" most schools have set up peanut-free lunch tables for kids with severe allergies. A few school districts around the country have considered peanut butter bans.

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Comments (32)


  • Add A Comment

  • boyerbl wrote...
    Kicked off a flight
    January 12, 2012 4:45 pm
    I was almost kicked off a flight for eating peanut M&Ms. They had announced that a child aboard a flight had a allergy to peanuts and told every to stop eating peanuts during the flight. Unfortunately the M&Ms was all I had to eat.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CitizenConcerned wrote...
    So????
    January 13, 2012 4:55 am
    Go hungry.... save a life...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    Please.
    January 12, 2012 5:51 pm
    The entire society gets turned on it's head for a SMALL minority who might have this allergy? The crappy thing about being a tiny minority is that you don't get to control the rest of us. Sorry, but that's the way it should be. If you're so concerned about this then keep your kid at home on a leash and in a bubble.
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  • Leslielovesallergickids wrote...
    stupid
    January 14, 2012 12:55 am
    your just stupid
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  • maplefish wrote...
    Here's an idea
    January 12, 2012 5:53 pm
    Just have the Seattle City Council gonna step in and BAN ALL CHEERIOS!!!! Or... If your kid ( or you) have a PEANUT allergy, then READ the INGREDIENTS and DON'T EAT THEM....
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    HA!
    January 13, 2012 6:41 am
    ban all cheerios! that's awesome!
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  • MmMerrifield wrote...
    I'm sorry fish...
    January 13, 2012 9:08 am
    some people are so sensitive that the dust from said item that they are allergic to can give them a reaction if they are exposed to it. that being said, the parents need to care for their kids, and sometimes that means isolating them(or at least being with them at all times) until they are older and able to help themselves in case of emergency(my children aren't deathly allergic to anything that we know of, but they do have celiac disease so we understand what must be done.)
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  • MissPittyPat wrote...
    It's the Parents Responsibility ...
    January 12, 2012 5:55 pm
    to monitor everything their child eats if they have such a problem. (I have food allergies in my family) Let the rest of the world eat what they want, what they like. We don't need to be regulated to death. (Even, in this case, if the result IS death) I will say, it is a pain to monitor everything and read every lable every time (because companies change their ingredients occasionally) but I take that burden on myself and don't expect everyone else to cater to us.
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  • maplefish wrote...
    Thank You MisspittyPat
    January 13, 2012 8:27 am
    For not expecting everyone else to change their lives to meet your needs. I appreciate you taking responsibility for yourself. Too bad there aren't more people like you in SEATTLE.
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  • Leslielovesallergickids wrote...
    Peanuts are posion for some you need to understand that
    January 14, 2012 1:03 am
    how can we avoid peanuts when it's in 75% of the products in the supermarket.
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  • DC wrote...
    scary, but it is the parent's responsibility
    January 13, 2012 3:29 am
    My son has a severe peanut allergy. I understand the concern, the worry, the constant checking for ingrediants before I buy anything. Even if I bought it last week, I check the box again. You never know when or if they are going to manufacture it differently. I have "scared" my son that if he does not check the labels, if he eats anything without checking, he will die. He understands how serious it is and has since he was 4 years old ( now 11 ). He asks people what is in certain foods, if they don't know, he doesn't eat them. I hate him being afraid, but the alternative is death. I will take fear over death any day. I don't expect people to do my job, I do it and I do it very thoroughly, he's my son. I do think people should have more understanding about this allergy however and have more compassion, some of you sound like you only care about yourselves and what you might NOT be able to eat for a few hours. Honestly, if it is to help keep someone alive, what is the issue? A few hours for a life, sounds pretty ridiculous. Anyways, it is my responsibility to keep my child safe and continue to do all of the checks. If that means we don't fly because of a certain airline, then we don't fly. Simple. Of course, I go no where without an epi pen and benadryl. My son is the biggest safeguard. He knows and is on constant watch, always checking and double checking. Almost OCD, but alive.
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  • DJFavorite wrote...
    I agree with the comments and the company
    January 13, 2012 4:43 am
    It is the parent's responsibility. There's so many other peanut butter products on the market. Are we going to ban all them? Because to kids, one cookie looks just like another, but one might have peanuts or peanut butter in them and one doesn't. While I understand the concern of some of these parents, it is their responsiblity to educate those daycare centers, teach their kids not to take food from other kids, etc.
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  • cg5611 wrote...
    thank you
    January 13, 2012 5:16 am
    misspittypat. I have food allergies, I do not expect others to monitor my behavior. Most school menus are available a few days before; when the child allergic to kiwi sees it on the menu, STAY HOME that day or bring a lunch and eat it in the principles office. Stop subjecting the whole rest of the school to no kiwi fruit.
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  • Drake wrote...
    Not On the Menu
    January 13, 2012 10:34 am
    Part of the problem is the school is NOT listing it on the menu frequently until the Day Of. That is what happened when my Niece, the girl allergic to kiwi this article mentions, went to the hospital due to a reaction from just being near the kiwi. She did NOT eat kiwi to get this reaction and it almost killed her. The US guarantees every child the right to public education. ADA requires reasonable accommodations. Is it so unreasonable to ban a particular food item when a student is deathly allergic to even being near it? Are kiwi's some critical food item all other children MUST have at school? I'm not talking about a permanent ban, I'm talking about a temporary ban. There is no reason to ban a food when no current student is allergic to it. There are lots of fruit that could be served instead of kiwi yet this school, knowing my nice is allergic, continues to serve it regularly, and I mean multiple times a week. Additional, this same school, despite the fact most other schools in the region already ban them, still allows peanuts, a much more common and often times deadly allergen that also does not always require the person to consume them to suffer a deadly reaction.
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  • talo1995 wrote...
    Kiwi and everything else
    January 14, 2012 6:23 am
    The problem is that accommodations for one apply to all. So yes, understand that this is all about your niece and how accommodations should be made for her. Hey it is just Kiwi. One kid is allergic to kiwi, another to citrus, another to wheat, another to dairy and so forth. Then what? What happens what you accommodations are in conflict? My child has to use a special laundry detergent since they have a allergic reaction to others. However, another kid in his class is allergic to this detergent. Now what?
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  • Country_Dog wrote...
    I'm allergic to government regulation and politicians
    January 13, 2012 5:28 am
    when are they going to ban those things?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BikeNazi wrote...
    Never obligate someone else with your own safety
    January 13, 2012 6:18 am
    I like peanuts and kiwis and I don't plan on changing my behavior. If you're allergic then don't eat them, it's your problem.

    When did this peanut allergy become a thing? 30 years ago when I was in grade school there was one kid who was allergic to milk and chocolate but no one ever heard of a peanut allergy and there was no nut ban in school.

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  • taxshaman wrote...
    The Peanut Butter Cheerios controversy
    January 13, 2012 6:40 am
    I understand these parents concerns however do we ban everthing because somewhere there are children or people allergic to something. get rid of dogs, cats, perfume, all kinds of foods, smells etc. These allergys are real and dangerous but there has to be a resonable answer. Not a total ban on all things and everyone else's rights to enjoy those things.
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