Uncle Sam was an American brand of ready-to eat

breakfast cereal Breakfast cereal is a category of food, including food products, made from food processing, processed cereal, cereal grains, that are eaten as part of breakfast or as a snack food, primarily in Western societies. Although warm, cooked cereals li ...

that was first introduced in 1908 by U.S. Mills of

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. The company relocated to

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sometime after the 1970s. Attune Foods of San Francisco acquired Uncle Sam Cereal in 2009. In 2013 Post Foods acquired Attune Foods. Post Foods discontinued Uncle Sam cereal in December of 2024. Uncle Sam Original cereal, since 1908 has consisted of toasted whole wheat berry kernels that are steamed, rolled and toasted into flakes. Whole

flaxseed Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of the ...

is then mixed with the flakes. This high-

fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...

, ready-to-eat cereal has a low

glycemic index The glycemic (glycaemic) index (GI; ) is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to a food, with pure glucose arbitrarily given the value of 100, which represents the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food. The GI of ...

and has an exceptionally high amount of

omega-3 Omega−3 fatty acids, also called omega−3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their ...

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. 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

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's ''The Engine 2 Diet'',Engine 2
''The Engine 2 Diet'', Rips Big Bowl. Belly Fat Cure, Sugar Busters and the

South Beach Diet The South Beach Diet is a popular fad diet developed by Arthur Agatston and promoted in his bestselling 2003 book.Sandra Bastin for University of Kentucky Extension Service. August 1998; revised March 2004University of Kentucky Extension Service: ...

History

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 North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ...

. The warehouse was located in the Belt Line railway industrial complex. Coltrin and Ambrose H. Lee patented the cereal in 1909. 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." 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. 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. During World War I (), 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." In 1917, Coltrin died in

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. In 1926, the company manufactured Skinner’s Raisin Bran (the first raisin bran cereal), for the Skinner Macaroni Company of Omaha. Uncle Sam purchased the rights for Skinner's Raisin Bran in 1964, and by 1985 the Raisin Bran outsold the company’s flagship product. In 1968, "the Uncle Sam plant was attacked by vandals in May 1968, with more than 50 windows smashed early on a Saturday morning."

Cereal contents

A 3/4 cup (60 grams) serving contains: 220

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy that originated from the caloric theory of heat. The large calorie, food calorie, dietary calorie, kilocalorie, or kilogram calorie is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one liter o ...

s, 40 from fat; total fat 5 g;

trans fat Trans fat is a type of unsaturated fat that occurs in foods. Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally, but large amounts are found in some processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils. Because consumption of trans fats is associated ...

0 g;

cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

0 mg;

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

135 mg;

potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...

250 mg; total

carbohydrates A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

38 g;

dietary fiber Dietary fiber (fibre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical co ...

10 g;

soluble fiber Dietary fiber (fibre in Commonwealth English) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition and can be grouped generally b ...

2 g;

insoluble fiber Dietary fiber (fibre in Commonwealth English) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition and can be grouped generally b ...

8 g;

sugars Sugar is the generic name for Sweetness, sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides ...

less than 1 g. It contains the following daily values:

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

2%;

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

4%; iron 10%;

thiamin Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin – an essential micronutrient for humans and animals. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosphorylated forms of thiam ...

50%;

riboflavin 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 ...

50%;

niacin Nicotinic acid, or niacin, is an organic compound and a vitamer of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It is produced by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Nicotinic acid is also a prescription medication. Amounts f ...

50%;

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

20%;

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

25%. Ingredients: whole wheat kernels, whole flaxseed,

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

barley malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

, niacin, riboflavin (vitamin B₂),

thiamin mononitrate Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin – an essential micronutrient for humans and animals. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosphorylated forms of thiam ...

(vitamin B₁).

References

External links

*
"A History of the Uncle Sam Cereal in North Omaha"
by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com. Post cereals Products introduced in 1908 {{food-product-stub