By Sayne Dalton – Dietitian
(APD) and PhD candidate at the Smart Foods Centre, University of Wollongong.
There are many challenges
involved in getting consumers to eat more whole grain foods. Knowing which foods contain whole grains and
assisting consumers to identify these foods is part of the challenge. Then, there is unravelling the science on the
health benefits of whole grains and further contributing to the evidence-base
by conducting dietary research, on specific population groups.
The development of a
comprehensive whole grain database is a critical step in addressing these
challenges. A whole grain database
provides information on the whole grain content of foods such as breads and
breakfast cereals, which may contain a significant proportion of non-whole
grain components, such as refined grains or added sugar. This information may be used in a number of
ways, for example:
- To assist nutrition professionals to identify and direct consumers to foods higher in whole grain
- To provide a resource for nutritional monitoring of the marketplace and
- To provide data to measure whole grain intakes in dietary studies.
However, until recently
there has been no such database available in Australia to assist with these
activities.
To address this gap, as
part of my PhD at the Smart Foods Centre, University of Wollongong, I developed
a whole grain database that provides nutrition practitioners and consumers with
information about the types of products containing whole grains in the
Australian market and their whole grain content (1). I applied the database to investigate the
whole grain intakes of participants in a dietary trial (results unpublished)
and further, to evaluate the whole grain content of food products in the Australian
market (results unpublished).
The database is the first
of its kind in Australia and one of only a handful in the world that will allow
more accurate analysis of whole grain intakes and provide much needed support
to research the benefits of whole grains in the diet.
The database was developed
by collating data on 385 food products from 46 food companies, with support
from the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC), who assisted in
facilitating the transfer of the data. There
were a variety of products containing whole grains identified in the Australian
market. Key foods were raw grains,
pasta, breakfast cereals, breads and savoury biscuits. Grain-based foods such
as these are important sources of whole grains in the Australian diet and
encouraging their consumption aligns with GLNC’s 48 gram whole grain Daily
Target Intake(2) and the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines(3).
However, the study
suggests that careful food choices are required to assist consumers to identify
the most whole grain dense choices. Despite
the variety of whole grain products identified in the market, there was marked variation
in the whole grain content of products in most food categories. For instance,
bread products ranged from 5.1 grams to 70.0 grams whole grain per 100 gram
product; whereas, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals ranged from 6.0 grams to 100.0
grams per 100 gram product. The database
developed by myself (Sayne Dalton) and colleagues
(Prof Linda Tapsell, Dr Yasmine Probst and Assoc. Prof Marijka Batterham)(1) provides a
resource for practitioners to identify the types of foods that provide the
greatest contribution of whole grain ingredients and complements other tools that
assist consumers to identify whole grains at the point-of-purchase; such as the
GLNC Code of Practice for Whole Grain Ingredient Content Claims, a voluntary
industry standard launched in 2013.
To access a copy of the
published article and database click here. To identify whole grain-dense food
choices in the supermarket, consumers are also advised to look out for products
which are ‘high’ or ‘very high’ in whole grain which will assist Australians in
meeting the 48 gram whole grain Daily Target Intake. A full list of products that
are registered with GLNC as containing significant amounts of whole grain and
aligned to the industry standard can be downloaded from the GLNC website. More information about the
GLNC Code of Practice for Whole Grain Ingredient Content Claims may also be
accessed from the website.
For further information please contact Sayne Dalton via sct20@uowmail.edu.au.
References
- Dalton, S.M.C., Probst, Y.C., Batterham, M.J., & Tapsell, L.C., Compilation of an Australian database of manufactured and packaged food products containing wholegrain ingredients. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2014. 36(1-2): p. 24-34.
- Griffiths T and Nestel P. Developing a target for daily wholegrain intake for Australians. Food Australia. 2006;58(9):431-433
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Dietary Guidelines. 2013. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council.
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Eat for health. Australian Dietary Guidelines. Providing the scientific evidence for healthier Australian diets. 2013. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council.
