Guidance on 'whole grain'

FDA Consumer, May-June, 2006

Consumers will now have help in making dietary choices based on a "whole grain" term that is consistent and reliable. The FDA has issued draft guidance for manufacturers on what the term may include.

"The food label is the best tool we have to help consumers choose a healthy diet, which includes whole grain products," says Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

The draft guidance clarifies that the agency considers whole grain to include cereal grains that consist of the intact, ground, cracked, or flaked fruit of the grains whose principal components--the starchy endosperm, germ, and bran--are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain. Such grains may include barley, buckwheat, bulgur, corn, millet, rice, rye, oats, sorghum, wheat, and wild rice.

The draft guidance states that although rolled and "quick oats" can be called whole grains because they contain all of their bran, germ, and endosperm, other widely used food products may not meet the whole grain definition. For example, the FDA does not consider products derived from soybeans (legumes), sunflower seeds (oilseeds), and arrowroot (roots) as whole grains. And the draft guidance specifically recommends that pizza be labeled only as "whole grain" or "whole wheat" when its crust is made entirely from whole grain flours or whole wheat flour.

This guidance is part of the federal government's longstanding effort to advise consumers about healthy food choices. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that half of the grain that consumers eat should be whole grains. Consumers, the guidelines say, should eat at least 3 ounces of whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta every day. One ounce is about one slice of bread, one cup of breakfast cereal, or 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta. Consumers also should look to see that grains such as wheat, rice, oats, or corn are referred to as "whole" in the list of ingredients.

Currently, manufacturers also can make factual statements about whole grains on food labels such as "10 grams of whole grains" or "1/2 ounce of whole grains."