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 Original size | |
| Product type | Breakfast cereal |
|---|---|
| Owner | |
| Produced by | Post Consumer (Worldwide) Nestlé (UK) |
| Country | U.S. |
| Introduced | 1893 |
| Previous owners | Cereal Machine Company |
| Website | postbrands.com/shreddedwheat |
Shredded wheat is a breakfast cereal made from whole wheat formed into pillow-shaped biscuits. It is commonly available in three sizes: original, bite-sized (¾×1 in) and miniature (nearly half the size of the bite-sized pieces). Both smaller sizes ("Mini-Wheats" and "little bites") are available in a frosted variety, which has one side coated with sugar and usually gelatin. Some manufacturers have produced "filled" versions of the bite-size cereal containing a raisin at the center, or apricot, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, cranberry or golden syrup filling.
In the United States, shredded wheat is most heavily advertised and marketed by Post Consumer Brands, which acquired the product in 1993 through its parent company, Kraft Foods, buying it from its long-time producer Nabisco. Kellogg's sells eight varieties of miniature, or bite-sized, shredded wheat cereal. Manufacturer Barbara's Bakery, a division of Weetabix Limited, also offers a version of plain shredded wheat. In the United Kingdom, the Shredded Wheat brand is owned by Cereal Partners, a Nestlé/General Mills company, although there are many generic versions and variants by different names. It was first made in the United States in 1893, while UK production began in 1926.