HEARD ON THE BEAT / <i> Buzz from the Business World</i> : Organic Cereal to Debut

General Mills on Monday said it is ready to begin shipping Sunrise, an organic cereal that marks the company’s first venture into the fast-growing, $4.5-billion organic foods market.

The Minneapolis-based cereal company’s new product will be certified by Oregon Tilth, an industry organization that sets policies and standards for the organic products industry.

Sunrise was introduced Monday during the Natural Products Expo West meeting in Anaheim. The cereal is made from corn and wheat grown on farms that don’t use fertilizers and other farm chemicals and have been inspected by Oregon Tilth, a Salem, Ore.-based organization that also inspected General Mills’ packaging and shipping practices. The new cereal will be sold for an average retail price of $3.39 for a 12.5-ounce box.

The organic food industry is expected to grow quickly in the wake of a January decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow meat and poultry products to carry labels indicating that they have been certified by such industry organizations as Oregon Tilth.