Milling & Baking News - July 20, 2004 - 36

H E A L T H

A N D

W E L L N E S S

U.S.D.A. plans to alter approach
in offering nutrition guidance
Continued from Page 1
consumers to make positive changes in
their food choices and to educate consumers about food choices and amounts
they eat."
In providing background on its
process for developing food guidance,
the U.S.D.A. underscored many of the
pyramid's shortcomings.
"Most Americans are familiar with the
Food Guide Pyramid, but few follow its
recommendations in their entirety," the
U.S.D.A. said.
The Department first conceived the
pyramid as a supplemental graphic to
the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, but consumers and food marketers widely have
used it as a "stand alone" tool.
"In some instances, the general
information in the graphic has been
misinterpreted as specific advice," the
Department said. "For example, the
range of servings shown for each food
group, intended to reflect caloric needs
of the overall population, has been misunderstood to mean that an individual
consumer can select any number of servings within the overall range."
Looking forward, the Department appears intent on avoiding such confusion.
Instead, the Center for Nutrition Policy
and Promotion of the U.S.D.A. plans a
different approach.
"C.N.P.P. proposes developing a
graphic symbol to represent the Food
Guidance System to the public and to
identify/brand Food Guidance System
materials," the Department said. "This
graphic is not intended for use as a
stand-alone educational tool because the
food guidance messages to be conveyed
are too complex for any single graphic."
Echoing recent remarks by Eric Hentges, the C.N.P.P.'s director (see Milling
& Baking News of July 6, Page 22), the
Department said it is resisting suggestions to incorporate additional nutrition
education concepts into the graphic.

"The proposed plan is to simplify the
graphic and use it as a symbol, to identify
food guidance messages and materials and
to remind consumers to make healthful
food choices," the U.S.D.A. said. "Then, educational materials that communicate the key guidance
messages will be developed
and identified or 'branded'
by using the graphic symbol
on these materials."
The Department said the
C.N.P.P. intends to reinforce the graphic
message with a slogan.
"C.N.P.P. also proposes to develop
a concise statement to be used in conjunction with the graphic symbol," the
U.S.D.A. said. "The slogan will be designed to encourage consumers to make
healthy food choices."
Concurrent with the development of a
graphic and slogan to represent the overall
good guidance system, the Department
said it plans to "define and communicate specific nutritional messages clearly
through multiple channels and materials."
By delivering the material through
multiple channels - including the Internet, print and media - the U.S.D.A.
foresees guidance that "connects with
the individual" and is tailored for his or
her information needs.
Proposed changes in the U.S.D.A. Daily
Food Intake Patterns seek to identify appropriate food choices based on age, gender
and activity level, the Department said.
"These food intake patterns list
amounts to eat from five major food
groups, as well as subgroups within the
vegetable and grains group," it said.
This comment apparently references
the Department's plans to encourage
increased intake of whole grains and reduced intake of enriched grains (see Milling & Baking News of June 29, Page 1).
The U.S.D.A. plans to disseminate
intake patterns primarily to health and
nutrition professionals.

Survey shows majority of shoppers have
positive views of genetically modified foods
VALLEY CITY, N.D. - A North Dakota
State University survey of 400 grocery shoppers on their perception of bioengineered
foods showed that about 80% would choose
a hypothetical pasta genetically modified
with added vitamins and minerals over
regular pasta that did not have this benefit.
Furthermore, a majority of those surveyed last winter said they would select
pasta genetically modified to have better
36 / Milling & Baking News, July 20, 2004

flavor, or with zinc to help prevent head
colds, over pasta without those features.
More than 60% of respondents would
favor genetically modified foods to help
diabetics and wheat with vitamin A to help
prevent blindness.
The recently released survey found
almost half agreed that "unjustified fears
have seriously blocked development of
genetically modified foods."

"They will also form the basis for
interactive and print consumer materials in a simplified or individualized
format," the U.S.D.A. said.
The Department also plans to develop
core messages to help individuals select
appropriate food choices and amounts.
"The core messages will give specific recommendations for making
food choices and will be
sufficiently detailed to be
actionable," the U.S.D.A.
said. "The messages are
intended to result in behavioral changes that will:
* "Keep caloric intake
balanced with energy expenditure to
prevent weight gain, promote weight
loss and/or maintain a healthy weight;
* "Promote nutrient dense food choices to increase the intake of vitamins,
minerals, fiber and other key nutrients,
especially those that are often low in
typical diets; and
* "Lower chronic disease risks by
lowering intake of saturated fats, trans
fats, cholesterol, sodium and other food
components that are often consumed in
excessive amounts."
The public stakeholder meeting will
take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Aug. 19 in Jefferson Auditorium at the
U.S.D.A.'s South Building in Washington. Written comments are due by Aug.
27 and should be mailed to Food Guide
Pyramid Reassessment Team, U.S.D.A.
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1034,
Alexandria, Va., 22302. The U.S.D.A. will
not accept electronic written comments.
The Department said it is especially
interested in comments on six specific topics: the configuration of the new
graphic, strategies to improve awareness
and motivation for using the information,
methods to assist consumers in personalizing the system, strategies to improve
educational messages, interactive tools to
demonstrate the messages and communication delivery channels for the message.
The U.S.D.A. plans to release initial
materials in early 2005. MBN

The report showed people regard the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, university scientists and farmers as more trusted sources of information on genetically modified foods than
friends and family, public interest groups, food
manufacturers, clergy and grocery stores.
"This is good news for farmers, food processors and retailers," said Allan Skogen,
a Valley City, N.D., wheat producer and
chairman of Growers for Wheat Biotechnology. "It sends an important signal that
consumers are ready to accept the positive
attributes biotechnology can bring." MBN
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Milling & Baking News - July 20, 2004

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