<p>Definitions of breakfast cereal subcategories.</p>

1,692 grain-based food products were audited in Shenzhen, China and Illawarra, Australia in 2023/24. Sorghum was found in 4.3% of breakfast cereals in China and 6.2% in Australia, but was absent from all flours, pastas, and noodles audited in Australia. The dataset, created by Anita Stefoska-Needham, suggests sorghum is not widely incorporated as an ingredient in common grain-based foods available in these markets.

Use Cases

• Compare sorghum utilization rates in breakfast cereals between China and Australia based on audit data.
• Analyze the association between sorghum presence and gluten-free or wholegrain labeling in breakfast cereals.
• Study the prevalence of sorghum as a primary ingredient (first position in ingredient list) versus a minor ingredient in snack bars.
• Investigate differences in sorghum-containing food formats (e.g., extruded cereals, oat-bake bars) across product categories.

Strengths

• Audit covers 1,692 products across two countries, providing a comparative basis.
• Records specific percentages of sorghum presence (e.g., 6.2% in Australian breakfast cereals) and labeling details (e.g., 73% gluten-free).
• Data collection methodology is clearly described, involving ingredient list analysis and product categorization.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting assessment of data structure.
• Geographic scope is limited to specific regions (Shenzhen and Illawarra) within two countries.
• The dataset is very small (9.5 KB), indicating limited scope and detail.

Provenance

Source

Anita Stefoska-Needham via figshare

Collection Method

Product audit of major supermarkets recording ingredients, food format, brand, product name, and labeling.

Time Range

2023/24

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-12 17:45:03

Geography

Shenzhen, China and Illawarra, Australia