UPDATE #3: In Kellogg's response, the company said some of its cereals, including Special K Original, Special K Berries, Raisin Bran Original, All-Bran Original, and Crispix, do not contain BHT in the liner, and it "had already been actively testing a number of natural alternatives," even before the petition. The Food Babe has taken her requests one step further, asking for firm deadlines for BHT removal from the two companies' products.
UPDATE #2: General Mills says the Food Babe was not part of the decision process and the taking out of BHT has been in the process of happening, according to an update from the New York Observer, though she called the company's statement "hilarious."
UPDATE: General Mills has been tweeting that they are "already well down the path of removing [BHT] from our cereals," in response to users tweeting at them regarding BHT, reports the New York Observer. This happened some hours after a Food Babe petition to General Mills and Kellogg to get rid of BHT in their products hit around 17,000 signatures.
Dive Brief:
- Food activist Vani Hari, also known as the Food Babe, has put out an official request regarding Kellogg's and General Mills' use of the controversial additive BHT.
- The Food Babe highlighted research findings touting the potential safety hazards that BHT poses to human health, like BHT's possible connection to cancer in certain animal studies and as an endocrine disrupter that may tamper with hormones.
- The Food Babe has already impacted other major companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors, whom she requested to disclose their own ingredients, which they did. Will Kellogg and General Mills be the next to respond to her calling?
Dive Insight:
Food Dive covered the Food Babe in its feature about bloggers who are influencing the food industry, saying, "Vani Hari is in a class by herself on the Web. It seems that no other blogger has had as much success as an activist, and no other activist has had more success as a blogger."
Hari has drawn much criticism from some members of the food industry and some consumers as well for her controversial, in-your-face research and calls for action by food companies.