Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Cereal — DUMP

Munch or Dump rates Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Cereal by Kellogg's DUMP — score 20/90.

Strip away the sprayed-on vitamins and this is refined corn, a heavy sugar coat, two yellow dyes, and BHT. Sugar is the second ingredient — roughly a third of every flake. Tony the Tiger sells it to kids as athlete fuel; the label says dessert.

Why this verdict

• Sugar is the second ingredient on a two-real-ingredient list — the frosting is the product
• Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 exist purely to make corn look golden for kids; both carry EU child-behavior warning labels
• BHT, a synthetic preservative flagged as a possible endocrine disruptor, keeps the flakes shelf-stable
• Milled (degerminated) corn is refined grain — the fiber and germ are gone, so it hits like fast starch
• The 11 added vitamins are a fortification patch on nutritionally empty corn, not evidence of a healthy food

Ingredients (8)

• Milled corn (moderate) — Degerminated refined corn — fiber and germ removed, fast-digesting starch remains.
• Sugar (moderate) — Commonly used sweetener but contributes empty calories.
• malt flavor (moderate) — Barley-derived flavoring — adds a touch more sugar and brings gluten with it.
• yellow 5 (caution) — Another synthetic azo dye — purely cosmetic.
• yellow 6 (avoid) — Another Southampton-six azo dye — exists only to make orange candy orange.
• BHT (avoid) — Second synthetic preservative; banned or restricted in several countries.
• Salt (moderate) — ~260mg sodium per packet — sweet AND salty is the palatability play.
• Added vitamins and minerals (safe) — The fortification package — fine in itself, but it's a patch, not nutrition.