alright i went bread shopping today. my gosh it's so confusing.
now let me clarify some things.
The basics:
Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product.
Grains are divided into 2 subgroups: whole grains and refined grains.
Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel -- the bran, germ, and endosperm
Refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins.
everyone knows the pros and cons of whole grain bread..the problem is how the heck do you get the right one when the entire bread world is out there to get you? Contrary to popular belief, fiber is not indicative of whole-grains. The amount of fiber varies from grain to grain, and some products may have things like bran, peas, or other foods added to boost the fiber content
Check the list of ingredients
If the first ingredient listed contains the word "whole" (such as "whole wheat flour" or "whole oats"), it is likely – but not guaranteed – that the product is predominantly whole grain.
If there are two grain ingredients and only the second ingredient listed is a whole grain, the product may contain as little as 1% or as much as 49% whole grain (in other words, it could contain a little bit of whole grain, or nearly half).
On the other hand, terms such as "enriched" and "bromated," among others, could indicate that the food lacks whole grain.
"Wheat flour" (as opposed to "whole grain wheat flour" or "whole wheat flour") as the first ingredient
is not a clear indicator of the product's whole grain content
Other misleading descriptions include:
“whole grain” - how much of it?
“contains whole grain” - how much?
“100% wheat” - what part of the wheat?
“made with whole wheat” - how much of it?
“multigrain” - how much?
The following names indicate whole-grain products, in accordance with the federal government:
“whole wheat bread”
“Entire wheat flour”
“Whole wheat flour”
now let's look at an example. Oroweat is one company that i saw which had lots of stamps from the wholegraincouncil.org
notice how the first ingredient is "whole wheat flour."
now look at the one below which is a "12-Grain" Bread. don't be fooled by the grain in the title. it's not referring to "whole grain." see the first ingredient?
other examples
nature's own honey wheat
Ingredients:
UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID)
comments: not good
nature's own Honey 7 Grain
ingredients:
WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER,
ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID)
comments: whole wheat flour is listed first so at least 51% is whole grain but the other half i dont know.
wow..that's a long post. :-)
Whole Grains Council
