It’s not easy being a green check mark.

The green check mark has become a known symbol for healthy food items, “Smart Choices” to be exact.  Unfortunately state and federal authorities disagree and feel the Smart Choices program should be suspended.  Many believe the food industry is trying to mislead consumers, citing cereals like Kellogg’s Froot Loops which have the seal of approval but are made of almost 40% sugar.

According to the New York Times, the Food and Drug Administration sent the Smart Choices program a letter in late summer voicing concerns that the label could lead consumers to choose highly processed foods over healthier foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.  Smart Choices responded in kind, sending a letter next week that they plan to stop recruiting companies to take part in the program and have made plans to stop promoting the program to consumers.  We’ll see if the FDA can come up with a better labeling system.

Top cereal offenders.

The suspension of the Smart Choices program comes at an interesting time, no pun intended.  Time Magazine recently named ten sugary breakfast bowl items as their top “cereal offenders” for the year.  Nutritionists love to complain about sugary cereals, and I suppose you can’t blame them.  Not only do they target kids specifically with their marketing tactics, some are made of over 40% sugar and STILL manage to keep their ‘Smart Choices’ healthy food seal of approval. This is a perfect case study of how the Smart Choices program has failed consumers. Here’s the comprehensive list of kid breakfast favorites to be on the lookout for, and why:

1. Cinnamon Toast Crunch - Six to eleven-year-olds see commercials for this cereal 82 times on average over a 15-month period–the most for any cereal on the market.
2. Honey Nut Cheerios - Good old Cheerios just can’t seem to stay out of the press.  Regardless of whether the regular ones are good for your heart or not, the plain O’s are certainly healthier with 32% less sugar than their honey nut counterpart.
3. Lucky Charms - A perfect example of a misleading Smart Choices pick with 41% sugar content.
4. Cocoa Puffs - Attract kids with their own website cuckooshow.com where kids can explore the set of a “live” talk show and watch cartoons.
5. Trix - The most marketed children’s cereal on the internet with two websites and lots of advergames.  Also boasts 38% sugar content.
6. Frosted Flakes - Rank in the top three for share of supermarket shelf space.
7. Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles: Attract kids with their philanthropic campaign supporting Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide which urges users to adopt PebPal characters and play games on the Pebbles website.  Oh, and you need Postokens, found on Pebbels cereal boxes, to unlock games too. Pretty sneaky.
8. Reese’s Puffs - Ranks as the #1 least healthy based on nutrition scores from Oxford University scientists with more sugar and sodium than fiber and other healthy content.  Still received that Smart Choices seal of approval.  How?  Who knows.
9. Corn Pops - With no fiber and 41% sugar, this cereal is the #2 least healthy on the list. New York University professor of nutrition, food studies and public health Marion Nestle calls it “candy.”
10. Froot Loops - And finally Froot Loops. Boasting 53% sugar for the marshmallow variety, their “Now with 3 grams of Fiber!” campaign doesn’t seem quite worth it’s weight.