12 Breakfast Cereals That Are More Than 50% Sugar

Cereals are taking a hit when it comes to their health claims. First Kashi’s manufacturer Kellogg was forced to remove the words “all natural” and “nothing artificial” from some of its products after a lawsuit in which plaintiffs showed that the company used synthetic, decidedly not-natural ingredients. And comes a report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which shows that the cereal aisle in the grocery store might as well become the sugar section.

The researchers analyzed 1556 cereals, and all of the 181 marketed specifically to children contained added sugar. Adult options fare a little better – if you really look, you can find 47 that contain no sugar at all – but most are still sweetened to taste more appealing. And brand names aren’t the worst offenders; some of the sweetest cereals come from store brands.

Here are EWG’s Hall of Shame cereals that contain more than 50% sugar by weight:

National Brands

Kellogg’s Honey Smacks (56% sugar by weight)

Malt-O-Meal Golden Puffs (56%)

Mom’s Best Cereals Honey-Ful Wheat (56%)

Malt-O-Meal Berry Colossal Crunch with Marshmallows (53%)

Post Golden Crisp (52%)

Grace Instant Green Banana Porridge (51%)

Blanchard & Blanchard Granola (51%)

Store Brands

Lieber’s Cocoa Frosted Flakes (88%)

Lieber’s Honey Ringee Os (67%)

Food Lion Sugar Frosted Wheat Puffs (56%)

Krasdale Fruity Circles (53%)

Safeway Kitchens Silly Circles (53%)

For less sugary options, here are the kids’ cereals with the least amount of sugar per serving:

National Brands

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, Gluten-Free (1g)

General Mills Cheerios (1g)

Post 123 Sesame Street, C Is For Cereal (1g)

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (3g)

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies (4g)

Kellogg’s Crispix Cereal (4g)

Store Brands

Springfield Corn Flakes Cereal (2g)

Valu Time Crisp Rice Cereal (3g)

Roundy’s Crispy Rice (4g)

Shop Rite Scrunchy Crispy Rice (4g)