Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz

Name: Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz
Brand: Cream of Wheat

0Avoid

Breakdown

Ultra-processed · 3 contaminants flagged · 3 ingredients to avoid

100

Lab-measured contaminants

Measured against published safety limits

−80

cadmium−46

lead−20

arsenic−14

Ingredients

−62

natural flavor−12

bht−11

folic acid−11

calcium carbonate−4

defatted wheat germ−4

6 more deductions−20

Processing

−10

NOVA 4: ultra-processed−10

Packaging

−1

Packaging−1

Adjustments

What it takes to land on the final number

+53

Minimum score+53

Final score0

Contaminants · 4

3 at/over limit

Measured by an independent lab and compared against published safety limits.

Cadmium36.7 ppbof 5 ppb

Over the limit — 7.3×FDA bottled-water Standard of Quality, 21 CFR 165.110(b) — 0.005 mg/L

Lead21.8 ppbof 5 ppb

Over the limit — 4.4×FDA bottled-water Standard of Quality, 21 CFR 165.110(b) — 0.005 mg/L

Arsenic19.5 ppbof 10 ppb

Over the limit — 1.9×FDA bottled-water Standard of Quality, 21 CFR 165.110(b) — 0.010 mg/L (= EPA MCL)

MercuryNDof 2 ppb

Not detectedFDA bottled-water Standard of Quality, 21 CFR 165.110(b) — 0.002 mg/L

Ingredients · 14

GoodCautionAvoid

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Common questions

Is Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz healthy?

Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz scores 0/100 on Tallow — our avoid band. That number comes from what is on the label: the ingredients, how processed it is, and what it is packaged in. It is not a verdict on your diet — Tallow does not weigh calories, portion size or how often you eat it, so a high score means the ingredients are clean, not that the food is unlimited.

What is in Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz?

Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz lists 14 ingredients, starting with Wheat Farina, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Defatted Wheat Germ and Guar Gum. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the first few make up most of what you are eating.

Does Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz contain seed oils?

No. Nothing in Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz’s ingredient list matches a seed oil — canola, soybean, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, rice bran or peanut oil, or an unspecified "vegetable oil".

How processed is Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz?

Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz is NOVA group 4: ultra-processed. That is the top of the scale and the classification the score penalises most heavily.

How does Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz compare to other oatmeal & hot cereal?

At 0/100 Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz scores worse than most oatmeal & hot cereal we have scored. A higher-scoring option in oatmeal & hot cereal is Bob's Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats at 100/100.

Is Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz organic?

Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz is not certified organic in our data.

Has Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz been lab tested?

Yes. 4 substances in Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz have a laboratory result on file — see the Contaminants section above for each reading and the limit it was measured against.

Does Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz contain heavy metals?

Yes. A lab detected lead at 21.8 ppb against a 5 ppb limit, arsenic at 19.5 ppb against a 10 ppb limit and cadmium at 36.7 ppb against a 5 ppb limit in Cream of Wheat Instant Hot Cereal, Original, 12 ct, 12 oz. It also tested for mercury and found none above its detection limit. Each reading is in the Contaminants section above.

Full methodology: how we score products.