Product type | Breakfast cereal |
---|---|
Owner | Post Consumer Brands |
Produced by | Three Sisters Cereal [1] |
Country | Italy |
Introduced | 1908 |
Previous owners | U.S. Mills |
Website | threesisters.com/unclesam |
Uncle Sam is an American brand of ready-to eat breakfast cereal that was first introduced in 1908 by U.S. Mills of Omaha, Nebraska. The company relocated to Needham, Massachusetts sometime after the 1970s. Attune Foods of San Francisco acquired Uncle Sam Cereal in 2009. In 2013 Post Foods acquired Attune Foods. [2]
Uncle Sam Original cereal, since 1908 has consisted of toasted whole wheat berry kernels that are steamed, rolled and toasted into flakes. Whole flaxseed is then mixed with the flakes. This high-fiber, ready-to-eat cereal has a low glycemic index and has an exceptionally high amount of omega-3 per serving because of the flaxseed. It is marketed as a "natural laxative" because of the presence of flaxseed, though clinical support for this assertion is scant. [3]
Because of its nutritional profile, Uncle Sam Cereal has been recommended by several well-known dietitians and nutritionists, as well as in top-selling diet books such as Rip Esselstyn's The Engine 2 Diet, [4] Belly Fat Cure, Sugar Busters and the South Beach Diet.
In 1908, Lafayette Coltrin (1840-1917) established the Uncle Sam Breakfast Food Company at 4201-7 North 28th Avenue and Sahler Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. [5] [6] [7] The warehouse was located in the Belt Line railway industrial complex. [5]
Coltrin and Ambrose H. Lee patented the cereal in 1909. [8]
In 1910, the United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Chemistry (a precursor of the FDA) sued Uncle Sam for "misinforming customers about the cereal’s health values" in advertisements. The company was fined $10 and disallowed from medicinal claims. Following the suit, "Uncle Sam focused on simply relieving constipation instead of the array of health issues they wanted to address." [9]
In 1912, more than 100 economic tourists of Omaha attended a factory tour and received "bowls of Uncle Sam" as well as gift bags of Omaha souvenirs. [5] In May 1913, the plant was expanded to twice in size. A cement elevator was added in 1914, which continues to operate as of 2018. [5]
During World War I (c. 1914 – c. 1918), Uncle Sam produced a barley cereal which "allowed more wheat to be used for troops overseas, and allowed for slowed wheat production on farms across the nation." [5] In 1917, Coltrin died in Long Beach, California. [5]
In 1926, the company manufactured Skinner’s Raisin Bran (the first raisin bran cereal), for the Skinner Macaroni Company of Omaha. [5] Uncle Sam purchased the rights for Skinner's Raisin Bran in 1964, and by 1985 the Raisin Bran outsold the company’s flagship product. [5]
In 1968, "the Uncle Sam plant was attacked by vandals in May 1968, with more than 50 windows smashed early on a Saturday morning." [5]
A 3/4 cup (60 grams) serving contains: 220 calories, 40 from fat; total fat 5 g; trans fat 0 g; cholesterol 0 mg; sodium 135 mg; potassium 250 mg; total carbohydrates 38 g; dietary fiber 10 g; soluble fiber 2 g; insoluble fiber 8 g; sugars less than 1 g.
It contains the following daily values: vitamin C 2%; calcium 4%; iron 10%; thiamin 50%; riboflavin 50%; niacin 50%; phosphorus 20%; magnesium 25%.
Ingredients: whole wheat kernels, whole flaxseed, salt, barley malt, niacin, riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1).
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in energy metabolism, cellular respiration, and antibody production, as well as normal growth and development. The coenzymes are also required for the metabolism of niacin, vitamin B6, and folate. Riboflavin is prescribed to treat corneal thinning, and taken orally, may reduce the incidence of migraine headaches in adults.
Breakfast cereal is a breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in Western societies.
Vitamin deficiency is the condition of a long-term lack of a vitamin. When caused by not enough vitamin intake it is classified as a primary deficiency, whereas when due to an underlying disorder such as malabsorption it is called a secondary deficiency. An underlying disorder can have 2 main causes:
B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. They are a chemically diverse class of compounds.
Raisin bran is a breakfast cereal containing raisins and bran flakes. Raisin bran is manufactured by several companies under a variety of brand names, including the popularly known Kellogg's Two Scoops Raisin Bran, General Mills' Total Raisin Bran, and Post Cereals' Raisin Bran. Though Raisin Bran is generally perceived as a healthier alternative to more sugary cereals, most popular brands of raisin bran contain high amounts of sugar.
Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a cereal grain consisting of the hard layers - the combined aleurone and pericarp - surrounding the endosperm. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel. Along with the germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a byproduct of milling in the production of refined grains. Bran is highly nutritious, but is difficult to digest due to its high fiber content; its high fat content also reduces its shelf life as the oils/fats are prone to becoming rancid. As such, it is typically removed from whole grain during the refining process - e.g. in processing wheat grain into white flour, or refining brown rice into white rice.
Enriched flour is flour with specific nutrients added to it. These nutrients include iron and B vitamins. Calcium may also be supplemented. The purpose of enriching flour is to replenish the nutrients in the flour to match the nutritional status of the unrefined product. This differentiates enrichment from fortification, which is the process of introducing new nutrients to a food.
All-Bran is a high-bran, high-fibre, wheat bran breakfast cereal manufactured by WK Kellogg Co for the North American market and Kellanova for the rest of the world. It is marketed as an aid to digestive health.
The germ of a cereal grain is the part that develops into a plant; it is the seed embryo. Along with bran, germ is often a by-product of the milling that produces refined grain products. Cereal grains and their components, such as wheat germ oil, rice bran oil, and maize bran, may be used as a source from which vegetable oil is extracted, or used directly as a food ingredient. The germ is retained as an integral part of whole-grain foods. Non-whole grain methods of milling are intended to isolate the endosperm, which is ground into flour, with removal of both the husk (bran) and the germ. Removal of bran produces a flour with a white rather than a brown color and eliminates fiber. The germ is rich in polyunsaturated fats and so germ removal improves the storage qualities of flour.
Honeycomb is a breakfast cereal first released in 1965, owned by Post Holdings. It consists of honey-flavored corn cereal bits in a honeycomb shape.
Raisin Wheats is a Kellogg's breakfast cereal available in the United Kingdom, made from shredded wholegrain wheat and filled with raisin. The cereal is made in bite-sized pieces measuring 3/4in x 1in and is packaged in boxes weighing 0.5 kg.
All-Bran Buds is a variety of All-Bran cereal manufactured by Kellogg's. It is a wheat bran cereal that is a source of high fiber and psyllium. It is available in the United States and Canada.
Mini Swirlz was a brand of frosted cereal produced by the Kellogg Company. The first flavor, Cinnamon Bun, was introduced in 2005, and was successful enough that two temporary flavors followed, Fudge Ripple and Peanut Butter. The cereal was made mainly with sweetened cornmeal, whole oat grain, and whole wheat grain, with a flavored topping that corresponds to the variety. The pieces in each version are shaped to resemble cinnamon buns. In 2009 Mini Swirlz was discontinued by Kellogg's.
Wheatena is an American high-fiber, toasted-wheat cereal that originated on Mulberry Street in New York City, New York, c. 1879, when a small bakery owner began roasting whole wheat, grinding it, and packaging it for sale under this brand name.
Refined grains have been significantly modified from their natural composition, in contrast to whole grains. The modification process generally involves the mechanical removal of bran and germ, either through grinding or selective sifting.
Bran flakes is a type of breakfast cereal similar to corn flakes. It consists of small toasted flakes of wheat or oat bran together with binders and seasoning. They may be nutritionally fortified. They are usually served cold with milk.
Start was a breakfast cereal which was produced by Kellogg's in the UK from the mid-1980s until 2018. Start was promoted as a cereal designed for improving sports performance. It was made from wheat, corn and oats and a single bowlful was said to provide a third of a human's daily vitamin RDA. It was suitable for vegetarians but not for wheat allergy sufferers.
Nesquik, also known as Nestlé Nesquik and Nesquik Cereal, is a family of breakfast cereals made by Cereal Partners Worldwide in a joint venture between of the American company General Mills and the Swiss company Nestlé, and based on the popular Nesquik product line.
The Roller Mill was created by Hungarian bakers in the late 1860s and its popularity spread worldwide throughout the 1900s. Roller mills now produce almost all non-whole grain flour. Enriched flour is flour that meets an FDA standard in the United States. Roller milled white enriched flour makes up over 90% of the flour that comes out of the United States.