Can you spot the ultraprocessed foods?

Take a virtual shopping trip to learn more about what's on grocery store shelves.

General Mills Lucky Charms Berry Swirl Cereal
Cereal & Breakfast
📊 NOVA 4🥛 Dairy-Free

General Mills Lucky Charms Berry Swirl Cereal

Lucky Charms
10.90 oz
Available at Foodtown
140
Calories
2g
Protein
12g
Sugars
210mg
Sodium
2g
Fiber
88
Ingredients

What You Should Know

General Mills Lucky Charms Berry Swirl Cereal arrives on supermarket shelves as a brightly packaged, child-focused boxed cereal you’d find in the breakfast aisle next to other kids’ cereals, sugar-sweetened flakes, and seasonal limited-edition flavors. The 10.9 oz box — typically printed with the Lucky Charms mascot and glossy, colorful imagery — sits near other convenience breakfast items like instant oatmeal, pancake mixes, and toaster pastries. It’s purchased for quick weekday breakfasts, back-to-school lunchbox add-ons, weekend cereal mornings, and as an on-the-go snack or road-trip handful. Brand positioning leans into nostalgia and family appeal: Lucky Charms is a long-standing General Mills franchise marketed to kids and parents who remember the mascot from their own childhoods, often promoted as playful and indulgent with limited-time flavor twists to drive repeat purchases. Labeling often highlights whole grain content and added vitamins and minerals, creating a health-halo despite prominent sugar and candy-like marshmallow elements; there is no organic certification and the packaging emphasizes fun rather than naturalness. In plain terms this is a highly processed, factory-made ready-to-eat cereal with added sugars, syrups, colors, flavorings, and functional additives. Sensory experience is a contrast of crisp, toasted corn pieces and brightly colored, sweet berry-flavored marshmallow bits that soften in milk; the ritual is pouring into a bowl, adding milk, and eating with a spoon, or grabbing a handful from the box for a sweet snack. The cereal’s texture, sweetness, and branded nostalgia make it a go-to impulse buy for families and impulse shoppers alike.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 cup
Servings per Container: 8
Calories140
% Daily Value*
Total Fat1.5g2%
Saturated Fat0g0%
Sodium210mg9%
Total Carbohydrate31g11%
Dietary Fiber2g7%
Total Sugars12g
Added Sugars12g24%
Protein2g
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Ingredients

Whole, Grain, Corn,, Sugar,, Corn, Syrup,, Modified, Corn, Starch., Contains, 2%, or, Less, of:, Dextrose,, Salt,, Corn, Starch,, Canola, and/or, Sunflower, Oil,, Gelatin,, Trisodium, Phosphate,, Red, 40,, Blue, 1,, Yellow, 5, &, 6,, and, Other, Color, Added,, Natural, and, Artificial, Flavor,, Citric, Acid,, Malic, Acid., Vitamins, and, Minerals:, Calcium, Carbonate,, Tricalcium, Phosphate,, Vitamin, C, (Sodium, Ascorbate),, Iron, and, Zinc, (Mineral, Nutrients),, a, B, Vitamin, (Niacinamide),, Vitamin, B6, (Pyridoxine, Hydrochloride),, Vitamin, B1, (Thiamin, Mononitrate),, Vitamin, A, (Palmitate),, Vitamin, B2, (Riboflavin),, a, B, Vitamin, (Folic, Acid),, Vitamin, B12,, Vitamin, D3..

Flagged Ingredients:

  • Canola - Seed oil high in omega-6 fatty acids
  • Sunflower - Seed oil high in omega-6 fatty acids
  • Canola and/or Sunflower Oil - Processed emulsifier
  • Red 40 - Artificial coloring
  • Blue 1 - Artificial coloring
  • Yellow 5 - Artificial coloring
  • Yellow 6 - Artificial coloring
No Seed OilNo EmulsifierNo Additive

Dietary Labels

This product is not vegan, is not gluten-free, and is not organic.

Ultra-Processing Assessment

NOVA Score:4 / 4

Ultra-Processed

Why this score?

This product is ultra-processed due to added sugars, corn syrup, modified starch, colorings, flavorings, preservatives, and a list of industrial additives despite containing whole grain corn and added vitamins.

Daily Ritual

Can you Spot Ultraprocessed Foods? Play our Supermarket Game

Take a virtual shopping trip to learn more about what's on grocery store shelves.

Shopping in the supermarket oil aisle

Others also viewed

Common Questions about General Mills Lucky Charms Berry Swirl Cereal

The definition of 'healthy' can vary based on your dietary needs and lifestyle. Lucky Charms Berry Swirl offers a fun breakfast option with some vitamins and minerals, but it does contain added sugars and refined ingredients. If you're aiming for a balanced diet, consider it an occasional treat rather than a daily staple.

Perfect For

back-to-school
weekend-brunch
road-trip

Vibe:

nostalgicindulgentconvenientcomforting
$NaN
per package