Surprising truths about cereal, packaged meat

Herb Weisbaum • Profile • E-mail

It takes a lot of work to be a smart food shopper these days. Package claims can often be confusing or misleading. This week, ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum answers some of your food-related questions.

I want to start my day with a healthier breakfast. Are there any specific brands of cereal you’d recommend?
-Greg H., Evanston, Ill.

To get the best possible breakfast cereal, ignore the marketing hype on the front of the box and concentrate on what’s inside. You want a cereal that has a whole grain listed as the first ingredient. Then check the nutrition facts panel to see how much fiber you’re getting. Some cereals have very little fiber per serving.

Here are a few recommendations based on a recent cereal survey done by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. If you’re looking for low sugar, consider the original Cheerios, Wheaties or Total. They have about 3 grams of fiber per serving. If you want a cereal with significantly more fiber, but no added sugar, go with Shredded Wheat.

Cereal made with yogurt sounds healthy, but it’s not really yogurt.

“In most cases, you’re getting a mixture of sugar, palm kernel oil and dextrose, which is another form of sugar,” says CSPI’s senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley. Even if there is some yogurt powder in the cereal, it has been heat treated, Hurley explains, “so it doesn’t have any of the good bacteria that we would eat fresh yogurt to get.” Her advice: “Skip those cereals.”

Why does organic milk have such a long shelf life? We see on the carton that it’s been ultra-pasteurized. Is that the reason? If so, why isn’t non-organic milk ultra-pasteurized so it would also have a longer shelf life?
Doug B., Seattle

Not all organic milk is ultra-pasteurized, but much of the industry now uses this process. You can even find some non-organic milk that’s been ultra-pasteurized.

All pasteurization involves heating the milk to kill bacteria. With standard pasteurization, the milk is heated to 161.5 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds. This kills 99.9 percent of the harmful bacteria. With ultra-pasteurization, the milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit for just two seconds. Scientists at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences say this higher temperature is “much more lethal to bacteria.” which extends the milk’s shelf life.

The “sell by” date for most pasteurized milk is 14 to 21 days after processing; it’s 45 to 55 days for most ultra-pasteurized milk.  If stored at the proper temperature (34-38 degrees F) all milk should be good for a few days past the "sell by" date.

In case you’re wondering, the American Dietetic Association says ultra-pasteurized milk is nutritionally the same as milk that has been pasteurized the standard way.

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