Breakfast cereals are often perceived as a healthy food, but things are not exactly like that. In many cases, especially in the products designed for children, the quantities of sugar are high, to the point of making them not very suitable for daily consumption. It should also be remembered that we always talk about ultra-procepsed foods to be consumed in moderation. Some products, however, are better than others, as evidenced by the new test of Altroconsumowho analyzed breakfast cereals.
It is a very large investigation, over 350 products have been analyzed, evaluating them both from the point of view of the nutritional values and the list of ingredients. A job that allows you to better orient yourself among the many proposals available in the supermarket, with the simplest versions to the most elaborate mixes.
The test has been divided into different categories: classic cereals, fitness and healthy, Muesli and Granola, and finally the most delicious ones, designed precisely for children and is on the latter category that we focus attention today.
For the “Children” category, Altroconsumo He took 70 products to champion, characterized by ingredients that aim to swallow the little ones: cocoa, honey, stuffed with chocolate or milk creams. They are the ones that we find most easily advertised on TV or on the shelves with colored packaging and captivating characters. The test has put the different products under the magnifying glass, comparing sugars, fats, fibers, presence of additives and overall quality of the ingredients.
But let’s find out immediately what the best and worst cereals of the investigation were.
The ranking of best cereals for children
Altroconsumo has drawn up a real ranking that we report in full:
On the problem of sugars, keep in mind that also the best valued product of the test, the Crownfield (Lidl) Choco Rice, contains 17 grams of sugar per 100 grams. It is not very little sugar, but considering that a typical portion of cereals for children is about 30–40 grams, already for breakfast there are 5–7 grams of sugar, a quantity that weighs on the daily requirement, although not excessive.
How the test was conducted
To evaluate breakfast cereals, Altroconsumo He analyzed ingredients and nutritional values of over 350 products, from corn flakes to bran sticks, to the most delicious variants.
The evaluation was based on a single score that takes into consideration:
The products were classified in five quality bands, from “very good” (80-100 points) to “very scarce” (0-19 points).
The data were collected in February 2025 in ten supermarket and discount chains, so as to guarantee a representative photograph of the Italian market.
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