110208_total-blueberry-pomegranate-cereal_main I came across this video today and laughed hysterically! It is hilarious. It blatantly illustrates in a comedic way the problems shoppers face today when looking for healthy products to put into their grocery cart. The video pokes fun at the fact that the General Mills cereal called TOTAL Blueberry and Pomegranate cereal actually contains no blueberries and no pomegranates. This is a classic example of a company trying to mislead consumers with their fancy marketing.

We hear a lot of information about the importance of antioxidants. Additionally, we hear that blueberries and pomegranates are healthy for us and that they are high in antioxidants. General Mills has taken this information and used it against us. They named a cereal TOTAL Blueberry and Pomegranate, with the intention of making us buy it because it appears to be healthy. However, it doesn’t actually contain blueberries or pomegranates and in contrast, it actually contains harmful things like artificial colours that can be detrimental to our health.

Although this video made me laugh, I felt uber frustrated when it was over. It made me wonder what the world is coming to and why we are letting companies get away with this. The best thing we can do to avoid letting them suck us in to their marketing traps is to read the labels of the foods we buy and make healthy choices. For more information on label reading visit my post entitled “Quick and Dirty Guide on Reading Food Labels”.