Posted on 04/22/2025 6:49:52 PM PDT by Red Badger
Froot Loops probably don't lead your list when it comes to major differences between Canada and the United States. You might opt for Canadians' love affair with hockey, or poutine.
Still, a Redditor blew the minds of many on the r/mildlyinteresting subreddit with a photo of the countries' Froot Loops side by side.
On one side was a notably flat collection of colors in the familiar ring shape. The other side was resplendent, like adjusting your phone from the battery saver mode.
"I assume the American ones are brightly colored," a user guessed.
Their hunch was correct, as the major distinction was due to a change that dates back almost a decade.
Under pressure from consumers and regulators, Froot Loops' parent brand, Kellogg's, was one of several prominent brands in Canada to make the transition from artificial colors to natural ones, per Canadian Grocer. Their Froot Loops use colors from sources such as turmeric, as The Washington Post noted.
The unnaturally bright U.S. Froot Loops, meanwhile, feature artificial food dyes including Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, and Yellow 6, according to Kellogg's. These dyes are purely cosmetic — the shiny thing that makes you want more.
They remain abundant in the states despite a concerning amount of evidence linking them to "adverse behavioral trends" in children, as one study put it. Some countries ban these dyes, whereas their use is prominent in others.
The Post reported how Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. greatly exaggerated the lack of ingredients in Canadian Froot Loops while drawing attention to problematic food dyes, but that doesn't mean key differences don't exist. Many states are taking action to ban the use of artificial food dyes, and Red 3 was just banned by the Food and Drug Administration.
For consumers who want to avoid food dyes, checking out ingredient lists is a simple step to take.
The Reddit community reacted to the stark difference in the two Froot Loops.
"I instantly assumed that the ones that looked like they had literal paint in them were American," a user wrote. "I'm sorry, Americans, but the left ones look considerably more edible."
"Look, I am not buying a box of froot loops because I am concerned about health," someone else countered. "I want brightly coloured sugar rings, that's it."
These dyes are purely cosmetic — the shiny thing that makes you want more.
Non-nutritive cereal varnish?
It must be time for Christmas Vacation.
By the early 20th-century most of Boston's varnish and paint industry, while retaining Boston outlets, was absorbed by larger companies further west.
C. Surviving Resources:
Late 19th-century paint and varnish plants appear usually to have been collections of smaller buildings, and are often woodframed. Exceptional survivals are the landmark Burbank Varnish factory in Charlestown, c. 1865, and portions of the Boston Varnish Co. factory in Everett, possibly dating from the 1880s. Other resources include a "paint mine" in Lexington (a yellow ochre deposit worked in the 1870s) and the Boston Stone.
https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/mhc/preservation/survey/regional-reports/Bostonarea.pdf
Should say year/circa 1700, but in any case:
History of House Painting: First Paint Mill in America
https://paintpartner.com/historical-paint-colors/the-history-of-house-paint-colors-in-america
And:
Yellow ochre paint history of the Hancock-Clarke House in Lexington
I ate Lucky Charms with my kids while they were growing up. Both of them are in their 40’s with their own kids. I believe that cereals back then were more nutritious.
Of course American fruit loops colors are brighter and the same is true about the American people, except for the roughly half that vote democrat!
You’re doomed!....................
They probably get enough Vitamin D from Poutine............
LOL! I had my annual physical this morning, so far so good…
I wonder why the Canadian Fruit Loops have stevia in them? Are they not sweet enough with the sugar?
They use Stevia Leaf Extract to cut down on the amount of sugar, which can be unhealthy.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4890837/
They put Zinc oxide in the Canadian version.
From Wiki:
Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula ZnO. It is a white powder which is insoluble in water. ZnO is used as an additive in numerous materials and products including cosmetics, food supplements, rubbers, plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, lubricants,[12] paints, sunscreens, ointments, adhesives, sealants, pigments, foods, batteries, ferrites, fire retardants, semi conductors,[13] and first-aid tapes. Although it occurs naturally as the mineral zincite, most zinc oxide is produced synthetically.[14]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_oxide
I found many things to disgust when I started checking labels carefully. For example, my calcium supplements also contain zinc oxide - for color!
My objection is allergies. I’m allergic to stevia.
If I’m not mistaken the labeling law requires that the ingredients be listed from most to least. If that is still the case, the US version has its major ingredient corn flour while the canadian version has sugar as the major ingredient.
It's been decades since I ate any kind of cereal, too much sugar and also full of ingredients.
The add GMOs to Cheerios, I’m not eating those either!
.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=c87ac2f1b894da6932a500b8205759b590994b4480e70d7e557b046e09adb1ac)
Jes tgey ar.
No, the vitamin D is added to the milk.
Remember when cereals were advertised as being “Part of a complete breakfast?” And they would show pictures of the cereal with toast, eggs and fruit? Of course no one actually had a compete breakfast. They just ate the cereal.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdjacentToThisCompleteBreakfast
I’ve never eaten any of the fancy cereals designed to attract kids. I eat cereal very rarely, once in a blue moon, and it’s always Cheerios. I’m diabetic, and use Splenda to sweeten the cereal. The cereal itself will raise my sugar level, but since I don’t eat it very often, it doesn’t affect my A1C.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.