Milling & Baking News - March 18, 2014 - 30

Washington 

believe "essentially complete" hydrogenation may contribute trans fat.
"Hydrogenation is a critical process
to industry, especially to the baking industry, where solid fats are required for
functionality, taste, texture, structure
and shelf stability," Ms. Sanders said.
The banning of partially hydrogenated oils might mean the loss of

interesterification as a technology.
Interesterificaiton produces saturated fats with precise melting characteristics and texture.
"Losing interesterification as a
technology would be a great loss
to industry and consumers," Ms.
Sanders said.
Banning partially hydrogenated

Few changes in whole wheat
options in revisions to WIC program
WASHINGTON - Proposals to
broaden the range of flour-based
foods included in a major food assistance program largely were rejected
by the Food and Nutrition Service of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
At the same time, the inclusion of
whole grain products in the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants and Children (WIC),
first allowed only six years ago, was
reaffirmed in the final rule.
The changes to the WIC program were set to be published
March 4 in the Federal Register.
The final rule marks the end of
the first comprehensive revisions to the WIC package since
1980. The interim revisions, issued in December 2007, added
whole grain cereals and bread,
baby foods and fruits and vegetables. The additions were offset in
the interim guidelines by reductions
in milk, juice and eggs.
While the F.N.S. received many
suggested changes to the interim
proposals for whole grains, nearly all
the suggestions were turned down.
For instance, the F.N.S. said a
number of commenters asked for
more baked foods than bread alone
to be included such as whole grain
English muffins or bagels, so long as
they meet the whole grain requirements for bread.
The change would be "complex
given the number of products in the
marketplace," the F.N.S. said in explaining why it did not adopt the requested change.
Another proposal the F.N.S. did
not accept was to increase the package sizes of WIC-eligible whole
wheat/whole grain bread allowed
to the 20-oz package most popular
in the baking industry. The interim
proposal capped the package size
at 2 lbs (16 oz). Ultimately the request fell victim to the baking industry's willingness in recent years to
30 / March 18, 2014 Milling & Baking News

introduce smaller sized packages.
"Although the availability of
bread in package sizes to meet the
WIC maximum monthly amount of
bread authorized in WIC food packages was of initial concern as state
agencies planned to implement the
new food packages and supply in
the marketplace may have been
limited, bread manufacturers have
increasingly produced WIC-eligible

breads in 16-oz package sizes to respond to the changes in the WIC
Program," the F.N.S. said. "As such,
all state agencies have breads in appropriate size packages on their
WIC food lists. A greater number of
WIC-eligible breads in 16-oz package sizes continue to be introduced
by manufacturers, which will further
increase the bread options available
to participants. Therefore, F.N.S.
believes that this situation has been
addressed and the maximum allowance for whole wheat and whole
grain bread is unchanged in this final rule."
Other whole grain options besides
bread were allowed for WIC in the
interim rule from 2007, including
brown rice, bulgur, oats and whole
grain barley, as well as tortillas.
The F.N.S. said it received 310 comments looking for an expanded list
of alternative whole grain products,
including the requests for whole
wheat English muffins and bagels.
Whole wheat pasta was requested as
well, and the F.N.S. added this product to the final list of alternatives

oils might mean an increased use in
palm oil, which has high levels of
saturated fat and is associated with
environmental issues such as deforestation, according to the A.B.A.
Banning partially hydrogenated oils
also might have a negative financial
impact on the domestic soybean industry. MBN
to whole wheat/whole grain bread.
Qualifying WIC-eligible pasta includes whole wheat macaroni or
other pasta shapes meeting the Food
and Drug Administration standard
of identity with no added sugar, fat,
oil or salt. The rule did not specify
whether pasta made with a blend
of whole wheat and enriched semolina would qualify. Because of its
lower moisture content, pasta could
be made with a significant proportion of enriched semolina and still
achieve the whole wheat requirement of at least 50% whole grains
by weight.
"The updates to the WIC
food package make pivotal
improvements to the program
and better meet the diverse
nutritional needs of mothers
and their young children,"
said Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack. "The foods provided by the WIC program,
along with education that
focuses on the critical role of breastfeeding and proper nutrition, help to
ensure that every American child has
the opportunity to grow up healthy
and strong."
The changes were made to align
WIC eligible foods more closely with
"updated nutrition science, recommendations of the National Academies' Institute of Medicine and the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans,
the federal government's benchmark
for healthy eating and nutrition," the
F.N.S. said.
WIC provides more than 8.5 million low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women,
infants, and children up to age five
with nutritious, supplemental foods.
The program also provides nutrition
and breastfeeding education and referrals to health and social services.
"Recent research by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
has identified changes to the WIC
food packages as a contributing factor in the decline in obesity rates
among low-income preschoolers in
many states," the F.N.S. said. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com
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Milling & Baking News - March 18, 2014

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