Milling & Baking News - February 11, 2020 - 24

Industry Activities

Grain Chain steps up push for
another whole grains serving
Continued from Page 1

Service, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and updated
the Grain Chain's comments to the
2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory
Committee submitted in July. The
committee has been holding public
meetings soliciting comments and
in January began a scientific review
to prepare a report for submission to
the Secretaries of the U.S.D.A. and
the Department of Health and Human Services.
In its July comments, the Grain
Chain floated the idea of a fourth
whole grains serving, which could
raise total grains servings to seven
from six. In the past, the guidelines
have recommended the consumption
of six servings of grains per day, with
at least half as whole grains.
"While the benefits of whole grains
are widely recognized, recommending
an additional serving would provide
the 2020 D.G.A.s with an opportunity to educate consumers about the
importance of grains in the diet," the
group said. "This could be helpful in
'moving the needle' when it comes to
Americans taking action to increase
whole grain consumption."
Such federal support also would
send a signal to the food industry,

encouraging bakers and other grainbased foods manufacturers to invest
in whole grain food product research,
development and marketing.
"This policy could also resonate
with the restaurant and food service
communities, with the opportunity

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

for consumers to be introduced to a
greater variety of whole grain offerings for meals and snacks eaten away
from home," the group said.
Published in The American Journal

of Preventive Medicine, the July 2019
study cited in the letter traced changes in whole grain consumption since
before publication of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and
the 2012 meal standards requiring at
least half of all grain foods in school
lunches be whole grain-rich, meaning
at least 50% whole grains.
The study found that the ratio of
whole grains to total grains in schoolchildren's diets fell between 1994 and
2006 but rose significantly following
the 2012 U.S.D.A. school meal regulations.
"Specifically, the whole grain/
total grain ratio from all sources
fell from 9.7% (1994−1998) to 7.6%
(2005−2006) before climbing to 13.5%
(2013−2014)," the Grain Chain said.
"Home-prepared foods topped the
whole grain/total grain ratio among
all sources until surpassed by school
foods in 2013−2014 (17.2 vs. 21.5%)."
The group suggested the committee help identify sources for whole
grains in the diet, noting that readyto-eat cereal is the top source for
infants and toddlers 6 to 24 months
of age and children ages 2 to 17. For
adults, R.-T.-E. cereal is the No. 2
source of whole grains after bread.
The 2020 guidelines will have a
heightened focus on dietary needs of
infants and toddlers, and the Grain
Chain shared numerous points about
the importance of grains for childhood

WASHINGTON - A letter from the grains industry to the Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Committee used a series of pasta research
studies to further demonstrate the healthfulness of grain-based
foods.
While the research has not been published, abstracts presented
from four studies demonstrate that pasta consumption is associated with higher diet quality, including higher intake of whole grains,
total vegetables and a number of key nutrients. Additionally, lower
body weights and reduced waist circumference were seen in adult
females who consumed more pasta. No association was seen between body weight and pasta consumption in adult men.
The letter was addressed to Kristin Koegel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and updated the Grain Chain's comments to the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

24 / February 11, 2020

Milling & Baking News

©VOLFF - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Pasta as 'case study'
for nutritional benefits
of grains in diet

A second study found that pasta consumption was associated
with higher dietary quality in children, including intake of vegetables and key nutrients, lower intake of sugar and saturated fat
than was the case for children who do not consume.
The third study found that pasta consumption is associated with
improved intake of many foods encouraged in the dietary guidance, including higher intake of vegetables, tomatoes and whole
grains in the U.S. adult population. At the same time, pasta intake
is linked to lower intake of solid fat. For children, findings were
similar.
In a fourth study, pasta consumption was associated with improved nutrient adequacy and increased dietary fiber, whole grains
and vegetable consumption in U.S. adults.
Each of the studies was conducted by Yanni Papanikolaou, vicepresident, nutrition, Nutritional Strategies, Inc., Toronto. MBN

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Milling & Baking News - February 11, 2020

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