Acknowledgements Thomas- Skopik

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1 Acknowledgements Thomas- Skopik In preparing for my project, many people helped me along the way. I would like to thank the following people: First, I would like to thank my mom, Miss Courtney Thomas, for purchasing my cereal and pitcher for my project, and Grandma Karyn for purchasing the cups, bowls, and lids. Secondly, I would like to thank my dad, Mr. Todd Skopik, for helping me with my Review of Literature and coaching my basketball team while this project was going on. I would also like to thank my Science Fair coach, Mrs. Tammie Mesenbring, for sponsoring my project and for guiding me along the way, and my English teacher, Miss Rebecca Czernik, for helping me with my Science Fair paper. Finally, I would like to thank you, the judges, for judging my project. 1

2 Purpose Thomas- Skopik The purpose of my project is to find out if kids can identify the difference between name-brand cereals and generic-brand cereals. Hypothesis My hypothesis is I think that the name-brand cereals will be easier to identify than the generic brand cereals. 2

3 Background Research Thomas- Skopik Breakfast began in the Neolithic (late Stone Age) era when large rocks were used to smash and grind pieces of grain to make all sorts of different porridges. Porridge was also part of Roman Soldiers diets, and they called it pulmentus. During the middle- ages hops and barley were used to make beer, which was served in the morning to hungry peasants with an oatcake or porridge. Breakfast began in the 19 th century, when some middle-class men started working regular hours in offices. Before people would often work a few hours, and then eat a meal around 10:00 a.m. Eating breakfast became more involved by the 19 th century, at least in wealthy houses. In about 1861, in the Book of Household Management, Isabella Beeton suggested a daily breakfast buffet that included cold joints of meat, marmalade, butter, jam, coffee and tea. Toward the end of the 1800s, there was a reaction against those kinds of lavish diets. Groups of the 7 th Day Adventists protested that meat based breakfasts were leading to very ill diets and health. Over the next few decades pioneers like John Kellogg, W.K. Kellogg, Henry Perky and C.W. Post developed ready- to- eat breakfast cereals that went on to become very popular with many various choices. At the turn of the 20 th century other cereals such as muesli were being invented in Europe. Breakfast cereals found success, but bacon and eggs were very limited during the war due to rationing. Also, when women started entering and getting involved with the workforce, the women no longer had any time to cook a full meal in the mornings, and cereals allowed children to make their own breakfast. 3

4 Thomas- Skopik The ever-growing choice of breakfast foods became more and more diverse. However, at the same time the options of cereals have expanded, less and less people take the time out of their busy schedules to have breakfast. (History of breakfast, 2011). Breakfast Cereal Breakfast Cereal is food made from processed grains, but not always eaten with the first meal of the day. Cereal is often eaten cold, and usually mixed with yogurt, water, or milk, but sometimes eaten dry. Some kinds of cereal are hot like oatmeal, and porridge. Some companies promote their products for the health benefits from eating oat based and high fiber cereals. Cereals may be prepared with vitamins. Some different cereals are made with a high sugar content. (Generic brand: cereal, 2011). The Seventh-day Adventists created the first commercial and modern cereal. Adventists formed the Western Health Reform Institute in the 1860s. The Institute was later renamed the Battle Creek Sanitarium after the location: Battle Creek, Michigan. Adventists promoted, manufactured, and sold wholesome cereals. Grain and cereal are members of the grass family, with starchy seeds used for and with foods. Most common cereals are: rice, oats, corn, wheat, rye, barley, and sorghum. (Breakfast cereal, 2011). Founder of Kellogg Will Keith Kellogg was born April 7, 1860 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Although he lacked a formal education past the 6 th grade, he would become one of the wealthiest and famous people of his time. Mr. Kellogg started his career in cereal, as a clerk at the 4

5 Thomas- Skopik Battle Creek Sanitarium. While searching for a vegetarian diet for the patients there, he stumbled onto something huge. Kellogg had invented a cereal flake using coarse cornmeal later to be known as the world-famous Kellogg s Corn Flakes. Will Keith Kellogg was the founder and proud owner of the Kellogg Company. Will Keith Kellogg and his brother John Harvey Kellogg promoted and developed eating cereal as healthy breakfast food, and especially corn flakes. In 1906, Will Kellogg founded the Battle Creek Toasted Flake Company, which later became the Kellogg Company. Will Keith Kellogg established the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Mr. Kellogg worked tirelessly promoting the value of a good breakfast until his death on October 6, (Founder of Kellogg, 2011). Growing Grains Grains grow best in fertile soils. Moisture and sun are needed to grow healthy grains. Rice needs paddy fields and warm climates to be able to grow. If wheat, barley, corn, and oat grains have too much moisture the grains grow moldy, and if there is too much sun the fields will dry up and the grains will not grow. After a farmer plants his crop, he can only sit back and hope for the best. Locusts and corn worms can damage any kind of crop. The cereal manufacturers buy grains that are large and full. The farmer must figure out the perfect time to pick, or harvest, his crop to yield the best product. Harvesting these grains starts in the field with the farmer and his combine. A combine does two jobs for the farmer. One, it cuts the plant, and two, it removes the grain. The farmer then puts the grains in large, clean silos for storage. Silos, along with their duties of storage, also keep out dirt, insects, and moisture. The farmer will watch for the price to go up for his goods and then negotiate a price for his product with a cereal 5

6 Thomas- Skopik buyer who works for the cereal company. Once a cereal company buys the farmer s product it is taken to a cereal factory where the outer layer, or husk, is taken off each grain and then cleaned. (Rosenberg, 2010). Making Cereal If a grain is made into puff cereal the grain is usually left whole. To make puffed wheat you need a pressure chamber. In order for the grain to expand the grain must be heated quickly then the pressure is released. Machines add vitamins after the puffed wheat is shot out of the chamber. The puffs ride a conveyor belt where they are dried in a hot air oven. Puffs that don t make the grade due to their size will fall through the screen of a conveyor belt. Once these puffs have been dried and are the right size they are carried up the bucket elevator to a packaging machine. Crispy rice cereals are made when moisture is added and the rice kernels are heated. The rice kernels pop like popcorn. To make cereal flakes, made famous by Will Keith Kellogg, the grain is cleaned, sorted, and ground into flour. Machines will add to the flour liquid; then they will add things like sugar, vitamins, and minerals to the mix. The mixture is then put on the sheets and baked. The signature flakes are formed during the drying process. Kid s cereals are often derived out of dough made from wheat, oat, or corn flour. With this dough, cereal makers can make almost any shape imaginable. Little dough balls are popped in hot air to form bigger cereal balls. The dough can also be squeezed through a mold and cut away making such shapes as stars, animals, and alphabets. Some cereals are just plain good on their own; they don t need to be puffed, popped, or shaped. A cereal made out of whole plain oats is called granola. Granola is usually mixed with honey, dried fruits, seeds and nuts then baked to make it crispy. It is 6

7 Thomas- Skopik nice to have a warm bowl of cereal, especially on cold winter mornings. Oatmeal is an old favorite, and sometimes people add sugar, nuts, or dried fruit to their oatmeal. Oatmeal can be made of wheat, rice, and bran meal as well as oats. (Mayo, 2004). Cereal Packaging The packaging of cereal would take a long time by hand; that s why most of the factories have machines that package them. Cereal boxes begin with a flat piece of cardboard. First a printer prints the logo and picture on the flat piece of cardboard. Then it will go through a conveyor belt and a machine folds the box then glues all of the pieces together. The bags inside of the box are very hard to open. The bags are made of plastic, foil, or waxed paper. A machine puts the bags into the finished boxes and then onto another conveyor belt. Another machine puts all of the cereal into the bags, and then the bag is sealed shut. The bag is just for freshness. Some of the machines fill about 40 boxes of cereal in about one minute. People then put all of the packaged boxes into bigger boxes, and then onto the trucks or rail cars they go. The trucks then take all of the boxes to your local grocery stores. The grocery clerks then open the boxes and put the cereal onto store shelves. (History of breakfast, 2011). Daily Grains In the beginning, cereal was mainly just a breakfast item. Today, cereal is also used as a good healthy snack. Whether popped, exploded, or plain you can enjoy it any time. Cereal such as granola can become yummy toppings for yogurt or fruit. Many people today even like their cereal put on top of ice cream. With six servings of grains every day cereal definitely fits the bill to help kids and grownups grow healthy and strong. (Mayo, 2004) 7

8 Materials Thomas- Skopik Dixie cups: 1 box Oyster crackers: 2 pack 1 pitcher 1 pack of small bowls with lids 59mL 1 package each of Apple Zings, Cinnamon Toasters, and Tootie Fruities 1 package each of Apple Jacks, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Fruit Loops 8

9 Procedure Thomas- Skopik 1. Purchase all of the materials at the store. 2. Make a permission slip to be able to test students, and send home with students. 3. Ask permission from teachers if you can test their students. 4. Put numbers on bottom of small bowls. 5. Fill up small bowls with 30mL each different kind of cereal. 6. Have students ask each child to pick up and eat cereal. 7. Let kids drink water and eat a cracker to cleanse their palate. 8. Repeat steps 5-7 five times for each type of cereal. 9. Have students identify generic or name brand cereal on paper for each item. 10. Record results. Control: Name-brand cereal Independent variable: Brands of Cereal Dependent variable: The ability to identify name- brand cereals and generic cereals. 9

10 Brand Recognition Percent Correct Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Cinnamon Toaster Comparison Fruit Loops/Tootie Fruitie Apple Jacks/ Apple Zings 0 Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Cinnamon Toaster Comparison Fruit Loops/Tootie Fruitie Apple Jacks/ Apple Zings Brands Tested 10

11 Brand Recognition Number of Students that Correctly Identified Brand Apple Jacks Apple Zings Apple Jacks Apple Zings 11

12 Brand Recognition Number of People that Correctly Indentified Brand Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamon Toasters Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamon Toasters 12

13 Brand Recognition Number of People that Correctly Identified Brand Fruit Loops Tootie Fruitie Fruit Loops Tootie Fruitie 13

14 Fruit Loops/Tootie Fruitie 24% % Fruit Loops % Tootie Fruitie 76% 14

15 Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Cinnamon Toaster Comparison 11% % Cinnamon Toast Crunch % Cinnamon Toasters 89% 15

16 Apple Jacks/ Apple Zings 43% 57% % Apple Jacks % Apple Zings 16

17 Data Analysis Thomas- Skopik If the subjects are familiar with either the name brand or the generic versions, they can distinguish between them. I believe that the people who could not distinguish between the two might not be familiar with either type: name brand or generic. 17

18 Conclusion Thomas- Skopik I conclude that children can successfully distinguish between name-brand and generic-brand cereals. I believe their ability to distinguish is dependent upon each subject s personal exposure to name-brand and generic-brand cereals. 18

19 Experimental Error Thomas- Skopik An error that might have occurred while I was testing would be the students might not have all washed their hands. Food particles from lunch might still have been present on their hands since most of my testing was done in the afternoon, after lunch. In addition, if the lids were not sealed properly, this could have interfered with the cereal s freshness- also affecting its taste. 19

20 Reference List Thomas- Skopik (November, 2011). History of breakfast. Retrieved from: (November, 2011). Breakfast cereal. Retrieved from: (November, 2011). Founder of kellogg. Retrieved from: (November, 2011). Generic brand: cereal. Retrieved from: Will Mayo, G. (2004). Where does our food come from? Cereal. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Weekly Reader Early Learning Library. Rosenberg, P. (2010). How did that get to my table? Cereal. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cherry Lake Publishing. 20

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