Cereals safe despite ban - food board

Food safety: The Food Safety Promotion Board, Safefood, is advising consumers to continue eating breakfast cereals with added vitamins and minerals, despite their recent ban in Denmark.

Authorities in Denmark last week banned some Kellogg's cereals that were fortified with vitamins and minerals over concerns that they could damage the health of children and pregnant women. The supplements were added to some of the cereals in "toxic" doses, the Danes said, which could damage children's kidneys and harm foetuses.

However, Safefood said Irish people were "at risk" from not having enough vitamins and minerals in their diets, rather than having too much, and fortified breakfast cereals were a good, safe source of these nutrients.

"Ready-to-eat-breakfast cereals are important contributors to vitamin and mineral intakes on the island of Ireland.Eating fortified foods is unlikely to cause an individual to exceed upper safety limits for vitamins and mineral intakes," a spokeswoman said.

The Danish decision was based on information from their own dietary surveys that highlighted a high intake of vitamin and mineral supplements among the population, she said. About half of all adults and 70 per cent of children aged from four to 10 are regular consumers of dietary supplements in Denmark.

Only 28 per cent of Irish adults take supplements regularly, an all-Ireland survey found.

"Evidence from the North-South Food Consumption Survey has shown that a large proportion of the adult population on the island of Ireland are at risk of inadequate vitamin and mineral intakes."

However, the Safefood board would be seeking further information from the Danish authorities and would take "appropriate action" to ensure Irish consumers were adequately informed. "Safefood recognises the benefits of a healthy breakfast, particularly for active growing school children who have high energy, vitamins and mineral requirements."

A low-sugar, whole grain fortified cereal, which would provide a slow release of energy, was a recommended breakfast, the spokeswoman said. "Scientific evidence has shown that adults who eat breakfast are better able to control body weight and children have better concentration."