Raisin Bran

Raisin bran (sultana bran in some countries) is a breakfast cereal containing raisins and wheat bran. Raisin bran is manufactured by several companies under a variety of brand names, including the popularly known Kellogg's Raisin Bran, General Mills' Total Raisin Bran, and Post Cereals' Raisin Bran. This popular breakfast cereal is a staple in households all over the United States because of its advertised nutritional value.

History

Skinner's Raisin-BRAN was the first raisin bran brand on the market, introduced in the United States in 1926 by the Skinner Manufacturing Company. For 17 years, Skinner had ownership over the product's name, until Kellogg's and Post began to sell their own versions of raisin bran.  With concerns of losing money within grocery store sales, Skinner filed a cease-and-desist in an attempt to keep ownership over his raisin bran product.

The name "Raisin-BRAN" was at one time trademarked by Skinner, however in 1944 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found:

The name "Raisin-BRAN" could not be appropriated as a trade-mark, because: "A name which is merely descriptive of the ingredients, qualities or characteristics of an article of trade cannot be appropriated as a trademark and the exclusive use of it afforded legal protection. The use of a similar name by another to truthfully describe his own product does not constitute a legal or moral wrong, even if its effect be to cause the public to mistake the origin or ownership of the product."   Now, any brand or manufacturer may create their own version of raisin bran and name it just that.

Nutrition Facts 
The main ingredients in all raisin bran breakfast cereals are as previously stated, raisins and bran flakes. Many brand manufacturers produce raisin bran using similar ingredients. 

Ingredients include but are not limited to:

 Whole grain wheat
 Raisins
 Wheat bran
 Sugar
 Malt flavor*
 Minerals including:
 Potassium chloride, niacinamide, vitamin B6, zinc oxide, riboflavin, thiamin hydrochloride, folic acid, etc.

* The use of the broad term "flavor" as listed in the ingredients is vague and can be dangerous for people with unusual food allergies or diet restrictions.

Health effects

Raisin bran cereal is commonly referred to as a "healthy" breakfast cereal because of its high fiber content, but according to Consumer Reports, Kellogg's Raisin Bran actually has a low nutrition rating. 

In 1991, Kellogg's complained that WIC program guidelines did not allow for the purchase of Kellogg's Raisin Bran for containing too much sugar.

While raisin bran cereal is thought of as a nutritionally healthy breakfast cereal option, it actually has a higher content of sugar than Lucky Charms, Reese's Puffs, and Cocoa Crispies (all known to be "sugary" cereals). 

On the other hand, Kellogg's Sultana Bran received 4.5 stars out of 5 on the Australian Government's Health Star Rating System.

Research suggests that eating commercially-produced raisin bran containing sugared raisins elevates dental acids to plaque-forming levels, while home-made raisin bran, created by adding un-sugared raisins to bran flakes, does not produce this effect.

Popular Versions 
There are several creators and versions of this breakfast cereal, the most popular being Kellogg's.

Kellogg's versions:

 Kellogg's Raisin Bran Original
 Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch Original
 Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch - Vanilla Almond
 Kellogg's Raisin Bran Cereal with Cranberries
 Kellogg's Raisin Bran Cereal with Bananas

Post's version:

 Post Raisin Bran Original

General Mills' version:

 Total Raisin Bran Cereal
 Raisin Nut Bran Cereal

Manufacturers 

 Kellogg's
 Post Consumer Brands
 General Mills

References

External links

Post Raisin Bran Official website
Sultana Bran
All-Bran Sultana Bran
A quantitative analysis of Kellogg's Raisin Bran (Science Creative Quarterly)

Category:Products introduced in 1926
Category:Breakfast cereals
Category:Kellogg's cereals