P&G; Wants Rival Cereal Tested by FDA as a Drug

General Mills Inc. says its new cereal is nothing more than a breakfast food that can reduce cholesterol, but Procter & Gamble Co. thinks it should be tested as a drug if it is going to make health claims.

P&G;, which sells over-the-counter medicines, wants the Food and Drug Administration to order General Mills to pull the cereal, Benefit, off the market. It contends cereals should be subject to the same federal testing as drugs before health benefits such as reduced cholesterol can be advertised.

General Mills disagrees.

“It’s a cereal that’s made from grain. It’s consumed like a cereal. It’s no different from any other cereal that’s on the marketplace that contains soluble fiber and has the ability to lower cholesterol,” General Mills spokesman Craig Shulstad said Wednesday.

The FDA is reviewing Procter & Gamble’s June 8 request and is expected to respond soon, said Chris Lecos, press officer for the agency.

Benefit--distributed primarily in the Midwest so far--contains oat bran, rice and psyllium, a grain grown mainly in India. The outer husk of psyllium contains soluble fiber, which has been shown to reduce cholesterol.

Psyllium is also an ingredient in Procter & Gamble’s Metamucil, a fiber laxative. P&G; had asked the FDA to allow the company to make cholesterol-lowering claims for Metamucil, but the agency said more tests are needed, company spokesman Bill Dobson said.

According to General Mills, tests conducted in 1987 on men with average and above-average cholesterol levels found that Benefit reduced cholesterol levels an average of 9% when 2 ounces were eaten daily as part of a low-fat diet.