How much is too much?: excess vitamins and minerals in food can harm Kids’ health
Nearly half of American kids age eight and younger consume potentially harmful amounts of vitamin A, zinc and niacin because of excessive food fortification, outdated nutritional labeling rules and misleading marketing tactics used by food manufacturers, according to a new report released by the Environmental Working Group, a national environmental health research and advocacy organization. The detailed report focuses on two food categories that are frequently fortified — breakfast cereals and snack bars, identifying 141 over-fortified products. Analyzing more than 1550 cereals and 1000 snack bars, EWG researchers found 114 cereals fortified with 30 percent or more of the adult Daily Value for vitamin A, zinc and/or niacin. They include General Mills Total Raisin Bran, General Mills Wheaties Fuel, Kellogg’s Cocoa Krispies and Kellogg’s Krave, among others. EWG also found that 27 common brands of snack bars, such as Balance Bars, Kind bars and Marathon bars, were fortified with 50 percent or more of the adult Daily Value of at least one of these nutrients.