Facts and figures

About Breakfast Cereals

• People who eat breakfast consume more essential nutrients, tend to be slimmer and have better concentration than those who skip breakfast (3, 9, 24, 33)
• The nutrients, vitamins and minerals missed at breakfast are often not made up later in the day (6, 11, 32)
• In the diet breakfast cereals are the leading source of iron and B vitamins (approximately 20%) and also provide 10% of the fibre in the diet of young people (12, 13)
• Eating a bowl of breakfast is quick and easy to prepare in the morning and will provide you with many benefits
• Skipping breakfast is common practice in Europe and people on average skip breakfast 20% of the time (5)
• Yearly per capita consumption of breakfast cereals in Europe varies from 0.9 Kg in Italy to 8 Kg in Ireland
• A typical 30g bowl of breakfast cereals with milk contributes less sugar to the diet than other common breakfast alternatives, such as bread with jam
• Most breakfast cereals today contain small amounts of salt per portion and contribute less than 5% of the average daily intake of salt (19)

About the European Breakfast Cereal Industry

• The breakfast cereal industry in Europe is worth more than €4.5 billion
• More than 1.1 million tonnes of breakfast cereals are produced in the EU each year
• The sector includes more than 70 companies employing over 11,000 people