Review of 'Malt-o-Meal' Tootie Fruities

Malt-o-Meal -- Tootie Fruities (vegan)
Overall Rating: 2/5
Summary: I let this melt a bit, hoping it would have the texture of Fruit Loops when melted in milk...didn't happen. It wasn't soft on the outside and crunchy on the inside. Instead, it was tender on the outside, but not so crunchy and fresh on the inside. It has that Fruit Loops flavour, so can serve as a more affordable alternative. However, the ingredients and nutritional profile are so weak and potentially harmful that I wouldn't recommend this product.

Where to buy: US store locator


Ingredients: corn, wheat and whole grain oat flour, sugar, salt, calcium carbonate, natural orange, lemon, cherry, blueberry, raspberry, lime, and other natural flavours, vitamin C (sodium ascorbate and ascorbic acid), yellow 6, niacin, vitamin A palmitate, reduced iron, zinc, red 40, blue 1, vitamin B12, yellow 5, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin D, BHT.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 cup
Calories: 130
     Calories from fat: 10
Total fat: 1g
     Saturated fat: 0g
     Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 150mg
Potassium: 35mg
Total carbohydrate: 28g
     Dietary fiber: 1g
     Sugars: 15g
     Other carbohydrate: 12g
Protein: 2g
Vitamin A: 10%
Vitamin C: 10%
Calcium: 10%
Iron: 50%

So, one look at the ingredients, and I know that I'm not buying this again. It has a host of artificial colourings (linked to allergies, cancer, hyperactivity, behavioural changes, DNA damage in animal studies, etc.) and BHT (linked to cancer in animal studies). With such poor ingredients, it's not unreasonable to expect that the corn ingredients are genetically modified. The brand also does not contain any statements on the website that guarantee the products are non-GMO.

The nutritional profile is very weak. The calories are quite low, however it contains a bit more sodium than I'd like, has nearly no fiber (only 1g) and protein (only 2g). What's more, it contains 15g of sugars. Not impressive in the least. Sure, it's fortified, but this does little to make up for potentially harmful ingredients and poor nutrition. Pass on this product.

Recipe: Tootie Fruities Mini Muffin Cakes

Other Cold Cereal varieties:

• Strawberry Cream Mini Spooners®
• Raisin Bran (vegan)
• Oat Blenders® with Honey & Almonds
• Oat Blenders® with Honey
• Marshmallow Mateys®
• Honey Nut Scooters®
• Honey Graham Squares®
• Honey Buzzers®
• Golden Puffs®
• Fruity Dyno Bites® (vegan)
• Frosted Mini Spooners®
• Frosted Flakes (vegan)
• Crispy Rice (vegan)
• Corn Bursts® (vegan)
• Colossal Crunch® (vegan)
• Cocoa Dyno Bites® (vegan)
• Coco Roos® (vegan)
• Cinnamon Toasters® (vegan)
• Chocolate Marshmallow Mateys®
• Blueberry Muffin Tops® (vegan)
• Blueberry Mini Spooners® (vegan)
• Berry Colossal Crunch® (vegan)
• Apple Zings® (vegan)

Brand:

• Contains trans-fats, artificial ingredients
• High likelihood of GMOs
• Packaging is not recyclable
• A part of MOM Brands
• Donated to Al Roker’s annual “Lend A Hand” campaign
• Award-winning Malt-O-Meal®Honey Nut Scooters® featured on the “TODAY Show.”
• Malt-O-Meal’s annual “Cereal Day for United Way!”
• Most cereal products are Kosher certified