Kellogg is marking cereal centennial

With the first baby boomers turning 60 this year, Kellogg is developing products for older, health-conscious consumers aimed at strengthening bones and even improving memory, said Donna Banks, who heads up the company's research and development.

When Kellogg announced its fourth-quarter earnings last month, David Mackay, president and chief operating officer, told industry analysts during a teleconference that they can expect to hear more in the future "about health and wellness, not only from Kellogg but from many companies."

Kellogg signed a 15-year agreement with Martek Biosciences Corp. of Columbia, Md., last February to supply Kellogg an omega-3 fatty acid called docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, which it produces from vegetarian sources.

The Food and Drug Administration a few months earlier said DHA could be marketed for its benefits to the heart, but Kellogg didn't say whether it will put DHA in any of its products. Omega-3 fatty acids are found naturally in walnuts, soybeans, eggs and fish such as mackerel, salmon, tuna and lake trout, and are believed to help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Not everyone is convinced about the overall dietetic value of Kellogg's product lineup.

In January, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, said it planned to file a lawsuit later this month in a Massachusetts court against Kellogg and Viacom Inc., parent company of Nickelodeon, accusing the companies of marketing junk food to children.

Kellogg spokeswoman Jill Saletta says the company is proud of its contributions to healthy diets and will continue educating people about good nutrition and exercise.

Meryl Gardner, a consumer psychologist and associate professor of marketing at the University of Delaware, says companies that market their products to children have varying levels of success because parents usually have the final say on purchases.

"I know very few kids who take their allowance money and spend their allowance money on Frosted Flakes," Gardner said.

Marvin Goldberg, a marketing professor at Penn State University whose research has focused on the effectiveness of advertising directed at children, said cereal commercials can be aimed at parents, children or both.

"My bet is that you could plot the level of sugar in a cereal with the proportion of advertising that is targeted to kids versus say both parents and kids or only the parents," he said.