Breakfast Cereal Puffs – I would like to know if all puffs are created equal?

QUESTION:

Breakfast Cereal Puffs – I would like to know if all puffs are created equal. How are they being processed to their final product and is it healthy to consume these on a daily basis. The ones we usually get are from the brand Good Morning Cereals (brown rice, buckwheat, millet). Would greatly appreciate if you could please review them for me. https://www.goodmorningcereals.com/products/

ANSWER:

Puffs are a tricky topic! I have spent time looking at this with The Wholefood Collective. From an additive perspective they are clean. I can’t comment for all puffs (I haven’t done a full in-depth review of all the ones on the market). However, I have questioned Good Morning Cereals (GMC) directly and can confirm their process:

Often puffs are processed in a slurry, through an extruder machine and then sprayed with oils/ sugars.

GMC add a small amount of water to the grain to that it reaches the right moisture level 15%. The grain stays in in its normal shape. This is a good thing.

GMC don’t use an extrusion process. An extruder is an industrial machine. It uses high temps and pressures to create a variety of shapes. There is debate whether this process disrupts the proteins and can be toxic for us. GMC use an automatic puffing machine (a gun puffer). The grain is loaded into a heated rotating pressure vessel and when the pressure inside the vessel reaches a pre-set level the lid opens. This sudden change in pressure causes the grains to expand into the puff. The temp is around 260 degrees for about 9 minutes. GMC do not apply any oils or sugars, they are packed with no further processing.

So they are additive free. I used to purchase them regularly. After finding out more about how they have been processed, I have not bought them since (we didn’t use them often for cereal anyway (they aren’t filling for my kids)). I would use them occasionally for a slice recipe perhaps.

If I was guiding a family on transitioning to additive free, I think this is a great product to shift over to say from Rice Bubbles. I would only recommend it as a transitionary measure and then look for other whole food options that haven’t been subjected to such high temperatures.

I would probably still buy them occasionally for a slice recipe, but I have chosen not to have these as a regular in our diet. Personally, I want to choose foods that have processed as minimally as possible. You may decide to choose different for your family. It’s such a grey area and not enough science around this to show the impact this processing has on us.