Frosted Flakes Cereal — ENGINEERED
Munch or Dump rates Frosted Flakes Cereal by Signature SELECT ENGINEERED — score 30/90.
Refined milled corn coated in sugar, with corn syrup and barley malt extract stacked on top — three separate sweetener sources engineering the sweet hit. The vitamin fortification is a fig leaf over what is essentially candy you eat with a spoon.
Why this verdict
- Three sweetener sources: sugar, corn syrup, barley malt extract
- Refined milled corn base with sugar as the second ingredient
- Built for craving — sweet coating on a fast-digesting refined grain
- Fortification masks a nutritionally hollow formula
Ingredients (7)
- Milled corn (moderate) — Refined, degermed corn — fast carbohydrate with the fiber and germ stripped out.
- Sugar (moderate) — A small amount added to enhance sweetness. Unnecessary but minor; drain and rinse to reduce it.
- Corn Syrup (caution) — Added sugar baked into the crust.
- Barley Malt Extract (moderate) — A third sweetener that also contributes gluten and color.
- Salt (caution) — Condensed soups run high in sodium per serving once prepared.
- wheat starch (moderate) — Refined starch for structure.
- folic acid (safe) — Added folate.
Healthier alternatives
- Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal
- Hill Country Fare Corn Flakes Cereal
- Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal
- "My Kids" by Cheerios
- Kirkland Signature Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats