Kellogg claimed Mini-Wheats boosted attentiveness 'nearly 20%' — study said one in nine

Kellogg put the claim on boxes, TV, print and the internet: a breakfast of Frosted Mini-Wheats was 'clinically shown to improve kids' attentiveness by nearly 20%'. Through 2008 and 2009 the claim ran across the campaign, putting a sugary cereal on the science shelf just as the aisle competed over cognitive benefits.

The study said otherwise. The FTC found that only about half the children who ate the cereal showed any improvement in attentiveness at all, and only about one in nine improved by 20 percent or more; against children who skipped breakfast, cereal-eaters averaged barely 11 percent better. On 20 April 2009 Kellogg settled the FTC charges: no money changed hands, but the order barred deceptive cognitive-health claims for Kellogg's breakfast foods and snacks, barred misrepresenting any test or study, and attached civil penalties of $16,000 per violation.

The claim came back as a class action mirroring the FTC's charges, and in May 2013 a federal judge preliminarily approved a $4 million settlement — $5 per box, up to $15 per buyer. 'Clinically shown' ended up costing more in consumer refunds than the FTC order itself.