Cheerios and orange juice

[yummysmoothie]

Today I called the General Mills cereal company to ask about Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, and about what vitamin D they add to it. The person on the phone told me that cheerios or any other general mills cereal that contained vitamin D as an ingredient, it was the animal-dervived D3. That bothered me because I'm at this point cutting out animal products from my diet and it makes me mad that they put animal junk in cheerios...is there another brand that makes the same kind of cereal but without the D3?

I also called Tropicana about their calcium/vitamin D no pulp orange juice (which my mom buys all the time) because they had listed vitamin D3 in the ingredients, and I wanted to ask about it. The person on the phone had me hold for 15 minutes and when she came back she told me that this particular D3 was synthetic powder and had "nothing to do with the animal industry whatsoever." She said it was both "vegan" and "kosher pareve", or something along those lines. I'm hoping she was telling the truth...because I thought D3 only came from animals?

Can someone clear this up for me.

[Cissy]

D3 can be synthetic, I believe.

(I thought this would be about using orange juice rather than ~milk on your cheerios - because my cousins did that when they were little because they were lactose intolerant)

[RedWingsFan]

There are two types of Vitamin D - two hormone compounds vitamins calciferol (D-2) and cholecalciferol (D-3). They are used to fortify many different products such as dairy, orange juice and cereals. Vitamin D-2 comes from irradiated yeast, while vitamin D-3 is found in fish liver oils.

I recently contacted Kellogg's regarding the "vitamin D" in their cereals as well. This is the e-mail that I received back from them:

`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``
"Thank you for contacting us on-line.

We appreciate your interest in our company and products.

Our product specifications to the sources for our vitamin premixes do not
specify whether the form of our Vitamin D is to be Vitamin D2 or D3. So,
either D2 or D3 could be in any of our products, and we cannot state
positively which one it will be.

Vitamin D however, is a fat-soluble vitamin, which can be from sources of
fish, liver and vitamin D fortified milk.

Hope this information was helpful to you.

Sincerely,

Dolores Carrillo
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs Department"
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````

I have never heard of a Vitamin d-3 not being from animal source. Here is the exact definition of vitamin d from the online Columbia enclopedia:

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0861826.html

[IamJen]

<<<also called Tropicana after they added the D3 earlier this year. I was told that they were not to identify it as "suitable for vegetarians".

I too, have not heard of a synthetic source of D3. However, if you Google "synthetic D3", it would appear that such a thing does exist.

Perhaps it's the same situation as with the Cheerios..the company just really doesn't know what the source of the vitamins is.

[kpickell]

I didn't realize the Vitamin D3 in Tropicana was synthetic. I've bought it when it was on sale, but I always assumed it was from animal sources. (Usually I buy store brand though). Good to know I suppose. Though Vitamin D3 is such a small thing for me that I've never been bothered by it's presence in anything. That's just my personal philosophy though. I know some of the people here have said they don't eat any of the commercial cereals because they contain D3. It is kind of sad that a tiny bit of something is all that stops [some of] us from being able to eat something. Someday I'm sure companies will be mindful of this fact.

[remilard]

Someday I'm sure companies will be mindful of this fact.

They will if you let it bother you and don't buy the products. It also helps the politely inform them that you aren't using their products for that reason. Apathy does not promote change.

[kpickell]

They will if you let it bother you and don't buy the products. It also helps the politely inform them that you aren't using their products for that reason. Apathy does not promote change.
If you're addressing my comments, it's not something I care about. I was speaking on behalf of others who do care about D3.

[remilard]

If you're addressing my comments, it's not something I care about. I was speaking on behalf of others who do care about D3.

I haven't noticed that you care about much, save saving money. Your lack of care doesn't make your actions unquestionable.

[kpickell]

I haven't noticed that you care about much, save saving money. Your lack of care doesn't make your actions unquestionable.

That's fine. You can question my actions, but this thread isn't really the right place for me to explain why I don't worry about Vitamin D3, as it's more about products that contain Vitamin D3. So if you need to know, you can private message me. But yes, I do try to watch how much money I spend. We're off topic.

[FalafelsRule]

Because d3 can be derived from fish or liver, it is not vegetarian. Some vegetarians are okay with eating d3 if it is derived from sheeps fur. I'd like to know why they think it is okay to eat if it is derived from fish or liver as vegetarians are supposed to avoid animal products. If it is in it's synthetic form, then it is vegetarian. This is why I am telling the truth when I say that Cheerios are not vegetarian.

To answer your question yummy, there are a whole lot of vegan organic cerelas available which are simply the best tasting cereals you can buy. Two brands that make excellent cereals are Peace and Nature's Path. Make sure that you read the ingredients as some of their brands contain honey (if you avoid that like I do).

[msbunnicula]

I also contacted General Mills, and this is the response that I got:



Thank you for contacting General Mills with your inquiry.

All of the vitamins in our cereal are from non-animal sources, so it would not be Vitamin D3.

We hope you find this information helpful. Please let us know if we can help you again.

Sincerely,

Jack Stone
Consumer Services


My Cheerios (in Canada) don't even list vitamin D as an ingredient (and there is a 0 next to it in the nutritional analysis.)

[FalafelsRule]

I cannot believe GM gives so many conflicting answers. I think it is great that in Canada they do not use it in their cereal. Now, what about their b12?

[msbunnicula]

B12 isn't listed on my box either...just B6...

[RedWingsFan]

I tried doing a search on Google for a synthetic vitamin D-3, but I can't find a credible source of information for one. I still believe that vitamin D-3 is animal derived. When you contact a company they may not always know what form is in their product. It all depends on who answers your questions.

I looked it up at the FDA Web site... here is what they say about Vitamin D (which is consistant with what I have always heard):

"(a) Vitamin D is added to food as the following food ingredients:

(1) Crystalline vitamin D2 (C28H44O, CAS Reg. No. 50-14-6), also known as ergocalciferol, is the chemical 9,10-seco(5Z,7E,22E)-5,7,10(19),22-ergostatetraen-3-ol. The ingredient is produced by ultraviolet irradiation of ergosterol isolated from yeast and related fungi and is purified by crystallization.

(2) Crystalline vitamin D3 (C27H44O, CAS Reg. No. 67-97-0), also known as cholecalciferol, is the chemical 9,10-seco(5Z,7E,)-5,7,10(19)-cholestatrien-3-ol. Vitamin D3 occurs in, and is isolated from, fish liver oils. It is also manufactured by ultraviolet irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol produced from cholesterol. It is purified by crystallization. Vitamin D3 is the vitamin D form that is produced endogenously in humans through sunlight activation of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin."

Here is a link to the full text paper:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=184.1950 (link may wrap)

Either way you look at it vitamin D-3 appears to be ony derived from animals.

[yummysmoothie]

I wish companies would get their information straight. I ended up calling tropicana again, and this time a different person toldme that no, the D3 in orange juice is NOT synthetic, and I got annoyed because the other person had told me that it WAS synthetic, and then in the end, this guy on the phone says something like "well im only a customer service representative...so I dont really know anything." Grr...

Maybe I'll just stop buying their products all together.

I'm gonna try and find some of those vegan cereals, too :)

[RedWingsFan]

That's what I was saying, it depends on who you get on the phone. I think the best thing to do if you want information is contact them in writing. Direct it to the public relations department. They should have all the answers to address the public, and that way you get the response in writing.

[FalafelsRule]

If you need help, yummy, with finding out what products as far as cereal and orange juice are definitley vegan, let us know or PM me.

[Bunny Hugger]

Ohh crap.... I ate a bowl of cheerios (not the honey kind) yesterday...and the day before...damn I didn't see anything about vitamin D3 but I did see a "Vitamin D" PETA says not to worry about vitamin D (since it makes veganism look to complicated) but I did not know it could be D3 deprived..

And I've been vegan for a few months already :( ..hope its just dairy deprived and not animal deprived cause if it is... :cry:

[Jinga]

Ohh crap.... I ate a bowl of cheerios (not the honey kind) yesterday...and the day before...damn I didn't see anything about vitamin D3 but I did see a "Vitamin D" PETA says not to worry about vitamin D (since it makes veganism look to complicated) but I did not know it could be D3 deprived..

And I've been vegan for a few months already :( ..hope its just dairy deprived and not animal deprived cause if it is :cry:

Don't stress about it too much. Remind yourself of how many positive informed decisions you have made recently!

If you believe you and animals would be better off if you didn't eat cheerios or drink that OJ, then just buy a different cereal or juice next time you are at the store. Better yet, call your local manufacturer just to verify the presence/absense of animal derived D3 in those foods. Regions slightly vary their ingredients based on whats available locally.

[FalafelsRule]

Ohh crap.... I ate a bowl of cheerios (not the honey kind) yesterday...and the day before...damn I didn't see anything about vitamin D3 but I did see a "Vitamin D" PETA says not to worry about vitamin D (since it makes veganism look to complicated) but I did not know it could be D3 deprived..

And I've been vegan for a few months already :( ..hope its just dairy deprived and not animal deprived cause if it is... :cry:

For a PETA to be so passionate about their approach to animal rights, you would think they would not support the consumption of something derived from fish liver, eeeeeeewwww!

There are other" Cheerio-like" cereals out there. I'll have to get some of the brand names when I go into work on Sunday.

[MollyCat]

<<<also called Tropicana after they added the D3 earlier this year. I was told that they were not to identify it as "suitable for vegetarians".
I too, have not heard of a synthetic source of D3. However, if you Google "synthetic D3", it would appear that such a thing does exist.

Perhaps it's the same situation as with the Cheerios..the company just really doesn't know what the source of the vitamins is.

Tropicana says that their juice is not suitable for vegetarians according to IamJen's post.



kpickell wrote: I didn't realize the Vitamin D3 in Tropicana was synthetic. I've bought it when it was on sale, but I always assumed it was from animal sources.

It's not synthetic. It's animal derived. I think the wording of the letter from Tropicana was a bit misleading.

[shagginabit]

For a PETA to be so passionate about their approach to animal rights, you would think they would not support the consumption of something derived from fish liver, eeeeeeewwww!

There are other" Cheerio-like" cereals out there. I'll have to get some of the brand names when I go into work on Sunday.


Aren't the off brands *usually* vegan? I dont eat cereal but I thought they could be.

[FalafelsRule]

Most of them are, yes. They usually do not fortify their cereal with vitamins or at the very least as much as the conventional ones do. I do not think that the "Cheerio-like" brands fortify their cereal with vitamin d at all. I'll verify this of course.

[spehlbaund]

:( I thought Cheerios was vegan too that's why I'd been eating it instead of the Honey Combs my mom had bought. why can't people just be honest and say they don't know if they're not sure so we don't get all confused :(

[Buddha]

It is much easer to change your diet than to treat all beings with respect , compassion and kindness.


This comment is for those that attack people for their choices of lifestyle.


Think about that while you are biting a carrot and calling someone hateful. That speach is as wrong and dangerous for the world as slaughtering a cow.