Cereal Called a Drug: General Mills Inc....

Cereal Called a Drug: General Mills Inc. says its new Benefit meets all the requirements of a breakfast cereal: You pour milk over the flakes in a bowl and eat them with a spoon. But Procter & Gamble Co. contends that Benefit, which General Mills says has been shown to reduce cholesterol when used in a low-fat diet, is actually a drug and should meet drug-testing requirements. P&G; has asked the Food and Drug Administration to pull Benefit off the market, something General Mills says it has no intention of doing. Benefit contains oat bran, rice and psyllium, a grain grown mainly in India. The FDA is reviewing the request.