Baking & Snack - November 2008 - 76

WHOLE GRAIN

The Whole Story ...

as Far as It Goes
With the definition of 'whole grain' still in flux, formulating
decisions remain complicated.

BY LAURIE GORTON
o you think you know what "whole grain" means
when it comes to formulating and labeling baked
foods made with whole-grain ingredients? Think
again. This matter remains open-ended, an important caveat affecting the work of bakery formulators.
Recent actions, however, by AACC International and
a pending announcement of updated or final guidance
from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promise
resolution of this issue.

WHOLE GRAIN HISTORY. Good science supports the
role of whole grains intake in reducing the risk of various chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease
and type 2 diabetes. The 2000 and 2005 editions of US
Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended
increased consumption of whole grains, and the 2005
guidelines quantified this level as at least three "ounce
equivalents" (48 g) of whole grains among the six
servings a day of grain-based foods.
The 2005 dietary guidelines committee described
whole-grain foods as "foods made from the entire grain
seed, usually called the kernel, which consists of the bran,
germ, and endosperm. If the kernel has been cracked,
crushed or flaked, it must retain nearly the same relative
proportions of bran, germ, and endosperm as the original grain in order to be called whole grain." Although the
initial announcement did not list the grains involved,

subsequent analysis gave examples of how whole grains
could be listed (see "Grain Choices" on Page 80).
Fortunately, industry anticipated this change. Knowing
that whole grains would be part of the 2000 dietary recommendations, AACC International assembled a special
ad hoc committee of experts to consider a formal definition. As approved in 1999, the definition read: "Whole
grains consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked
caryopsis, whose principal anatomical components -
the starchy endosperm, germ and bran - are present in
the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact
caryopsis." Caryopsis is the technical term for a small
one-seeded dry indehiscent fruit (as of Indian corn or
wheat) in which the fruit and seed fuse in a single grain,
and indehiscent means that the fruit remains closed at
maturity. Thus, a kernel.
Formed in 2003, the Whole Grains Council (WGC)
included in its mission to clarify the definition of whole
grain. The result, announced in 2004, was: "Whole
grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire
grain seed. If the grain has been processed (for example,
cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded, and/or cooked), the
food product should deliver approximately the same
ᮡ Amaranth, quinoa, teff, sorghum and millet, plus selected seeds, make up
an "ancient grains" mix suitable for commercial bakery use.
CONAGRA MILLS

November 2008 / BAKING & SNACK

Baking & Snack - November 2008

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