Finally an agreed definition for Wholegrain.

All over much cereal based foods of late have been the words X% wholegrain. The public have been led to believe that wholegrains are good for them and so manufacturers and marketers are now ensuring that processed foods contain them and the labelling reflects this.

However, if asked it would be a fair bet that most people, including those in the food industry, would have difficulty in actually defining what wholegrains means.

Finally a major food body, has come up with an agreed definition for wholegrain.

There are three parts to a cereal grain; the endosperm (the largest part), the germ (the sprouting and smallest part) and the bran (this is the high in dietary fibre outer husk). Traditionally it is expected that a wholegrain product will contain a least a small proportion of each of these cereal parts. The complication is that not all countries have the same requirements or the same levels. This means that a wholegrain ingredient from one country will not be the same as one from another country, even if the percentage in each is stated as being the same.

The journal, Food and Nutrition Research for 04 February 2014 published the new European definition. This definition, from the HealthGrain Forum, is the result of work by a team from major universities and food research institutes in Europe.

This new definition will mean that all products made in, and coming out of, Europe will play by the same rules.

Australia’s Grain and Legume Nutrition Council (GLNC) is very pleased with the new European definition, which closely resembles that of the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Ms Georgie Aley, GLNC Managing Director, said; “We’re delighted to see that the HealthGrain Forum Association has delivered on a key objective. The European definition also includes additional clarification on permitted grains and pseudo grains, which goes a long way to creating international harmonisation on the definition of a whole grain and is a welcome addition by the industry. Another fact to consider is that while a clear definition of what constitutes a whole grain ingredient is very much welcomed, the next important piece of clarification required for the industry is a detailed definition for what constitutes a whole grain food.”

“The GLNC Code of Practice for Whole Grain Ingredient Content Claims provides a clear definition of what constitutes a whole grain food. The Code sets a minimum of 8 grams of whole grain per serve to allow a food to be labelled as ‘contains whole grain. This new minimum level provides a consistent message to consumers on which products are whole grain, giving clarity on current labelling of whole grain foods in Australia and New Zealand,” Ms Aley said.

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach