What’s trending in grains?

By Alexandra Locke

After a 30% drop in grains consumption in 2014 (1) and plenty of talk about the benefits of the paleo, diet, the dangers of gluten and the plus side to cutting carbs, we’re now seeing a shift in media perspective,  with a much  more positive outlook for grains overall! With the right conditions, it’s high time to start promoting the benefits of grains again and get consumers back on board.

But where do the opportunities lie? There are three key trends where we see grains leading the charge in innovation…

Digestive Wellness

More than ever before, consumers are paying attention to how a specific food can make them feel, so they’re consciously looking for the benefits that certain foods can provide. What’s more, they want to feel assured that they’re promoting their digestive health and overall wellness when making food choices – these consumers will pay a premium for products which taste good and offer functional digestive benefits.

And this is where grains, whole grains specifically, come in – whole grains exhibit an impressive nutritional profile, providing dietary fibre, protein and are a healthy source of carbohydrate , also contributing nutrients like magnesium, folate and iron to our diets. Fibre intake is directly related to our digestive health so the opportunities for whole grain innovation in this category are big!

Good Carbs, Bad Carbs

Over the past year or so we've increasingly seen consumers understanding that there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ carbs, with an emphasis on the importance of choosing the most healthful carbohydrate format. Both the media and consumers are becoming more aware that carbohydrates are essential as part of a healthy balanced diet, focusing on crowding out refined and processed carbohydrates by increasing intake of whole grains, wholemeal bread and pseudo-grains, as well as eating more ‘alternative’ forms of carbohydrates, think sweet potato toasts and zucchini noodles.

With ‘healthier’ forms of traditionally carbohydrate heavy foods now on the rise, we’re seeing significant movement towards alternatives such as ancient grains, legumes flours and even substitution of flour with pureed veg! But again, with consumer awareness of whole grains on the rise, grains can still play a significant part in the healthful innovation of this category.

Snackification

And finally, the rise of snackification is promoting massive innovation. The Australian snacking market is now worth more than $2 billion and climbing fast (2) and Australians are now snacking four times as much as 10 years ago.

And it would appear that anything goes with this trend, any food can be engineered to be thought of as a snack, any time of day is open to snackification and there are no limits on product development - almost any ingredient that can be dried, pureed, shaped, extruded or frozen is open to innovation. Whilst grains traditionally dominated this category, we’re still seeing big opportunities for grain foods moving forward. More food than ever is being consumed on-the-go, especially at breakfast and manufacturers are innovating with grains to make healthy choices more convenient for today’s busy lifestyles.

Whilst these trends clearly present big opportunities for manufacturers and retailers, there are also significant opportunities for those at the very beginning of the supply chain – for the growers and the farmers.

These mega-trends have paved the way for several smaller trends within the grains space…

Ancient Grains 

Quinoa is now found on nearly every trendy café menu in some form or another with this group of grains being seen as untainted and intrinsically healthy. Perhaps their alternative title of pseudo-grains has helped with the allure, but this presents opportunities for diversification on farm and many young farmers are doing just that. And perhaps fonio is the next big ancient grain?

Back to Basics with Oats 

This humble grain has seen a huge resurgence in popularity in recent years and manufacturers have already taken advantage of this opportunity. Now’s the time for growers to reap the rewards of increased demand for this crop and add value in the form of exclusivity… think single origin oats, exotic flavours and on-the-go formats.

Provenance 

Consumers want to connect with their food more than ever, so now is the time for growers to tell their story. With social media at our fingertips and whole communities of consumers ready and waiting, the desire to understand where our food comes from is strong. And consumers are actively seeking out those products with a story behind them.

Now is the time to connect with consumers, tell them the story of how their product got from farm to store and enrich them with the knowledge of understanding where their food comes from. We can’t leave it just to the marketers and manufacturers to promote this category anymore – we all need to be involved with spreading the story and helping to bring back the belief in grains!

References

1. GLNC. 2017. Consumption & Attitudes Study. Unpublished.

2. Innova Market Insights Report. 2016

Making the Most of the Whole Grain Opportunity

By Rebecca Williams

New research examining global whole grain intakes suggests that Australia is doing better than some countries for whole grain consumption⁽¹⁾. However we still have a long way to go to meet the amount of whole grain recommended for good health and chronic disease risk reduction.

According to the most recent National Nutrition Survey only 34% of grain food consumed came from whole grain or high fibre grain foods⁽²⁾. This aligns with GLNC’s own research, which shows that more than 40% of Australians eat less than one serve of whole grain food per day⁽³⁾. An intake of three serves of whole grain a day is recommended to promote health and reduce chronic disease risk^{(4, 5)}, however in Australia only one in three people meets this target⁽³⁾.

Whilst Australia is doing much better than the UK - where just 17% of people meet this target and the US where only 8% eat enough whole grain - we’re not doing nearly as well as countries like Denmark, Sweden and Norway⁽¹⁾. Residents in these countries typically consume twice as much whole grain as the average Australian and may experience fewer instances of chronic disease as a result.

One of the reasons Australians are not meeting whole grain recommendations may be because they are confused about which foods are whole grain foods. The 2014 GLNC Consumption Study found that less than half of survey respondents were able to identify that oats and wholemeal pasta were a source of whole grain⁽³⁾. One of the contributing factors to consumer confusion may be that unlike other nutrients, the Food Standards Code does not regulate whole grain content claims, and consequently foods making whole grain claims may vary in the amount of whole grain they contain. Data from the 2016 GLNC product audit showed that the whole grain content of packaged breads with whole grain content claims on pack varied from around 8g to 60g of whole grain per serve⁽⁶⁾.

To ensure consumers are getting consistent information on whole grain content, the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council launched the Code of Practice for Whole Grain Ingredient Content Claims in 2013. The Code helps to regulate whole grain content claims through the establishment of a benchmark for the minimum amount of whole grain a product must contain to make a whole grain ingredient content claim.

A recent impact assessment revealed significant uptake of, and a high level of compliance with, the Code by food industry. This should instil confidence in the Australian public’s ability to identify foods which contain a significant amount of whole grain.

Since the Code was launched Registered Users of the Code have added over 100,000 tonnes or more than 400 Olympic swimming pools of whole grain to the Australian food supply through new and renovated products. This is great news as it means that with increasing innovation in the whole grain category, it’s easier than ever for Australians to choose foods that are high in whole grain. 

While food industry is doing its part to support consumer choice, quantified public health recommendations would encourage consumers to choose whole grain more often. Based on the evidence for better health outcomes, this recommendation should be to choose whole grain for at least three of your six serves of grain foods a day.

The average Australian would need an increase of just 1.5 serves of whole grain a day to meet the recommended three serves and reap the significant health benefits of higher whole grain intake. This could be as simple as swapping the white bread in your sandwich for a wholemeal variety, or opting for a whole grain breakfast cereal in the morning. If you're in need of some inspiration, why not check out some of the delicious whole grain recipes available on the GLNC website.

Registered Users of the GLNC Code of Practice in Australia and New Zealand include:

If you're interested in registering with the Whole Grain Code of Practice or simply want to find out more click here.

References

1. Mann KD, Pearce MS, Seal CJ. Providing evidence to support the development of whole grain dietary recommendations in the United Kingdom. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2016:1-9.

2. ABS. 2011-2012 Australian Health Survey: Consumption of food groups from the Australian Dietary Guidelines, 2011–12 — Australia. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016.

3. GLNC. 2014 Australian Grains and Legumes Consumption and Attitudinal Report. Unpublished: 2014.

4. NHMRC. Australian Dietary Guidelines Providing the scientific evidence for healthier Australian diets. 2013 Accessed online January 2014.

5. Aune D, Keum N, Giovannucci E, Fadnes LT, Boffetta P, Greenwood DC, et al. Whole grain consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all cause and cause specific mortality: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Bmj. 2016;353.

6. GLNC. GLNC 2015-2016 Grains and Legumes Product Audit. Unpublished: Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council 2016.

Awesome oats

Beyond cholesterol lowering

Don't wait for a cold winter's day to reap the health benefits of oats. New evidence suggests there may be more to oats than cholesterol lowering, with recent research revealing special compounds in oats may help protect against heart attached by reducing inflammation and blockages in blood vessels, and initial investigations have found oats may decrease the risk of asthma in young children.

Killing one Australian every 10 mins and affecting two out of three Australian families, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Australia with huge financial impacts on our health care system. Fortunately, many of the risk factors for CVD are preventable including smoking, high blood pressure, lack of physical activity, diabetes, overweight, obesity and high cholesterol.

For the past decade or more, there have been a growing number of scientific studies supporting the role that oats can play lowering cholesterol and helping to protect against cardiovascular disease. A new study has found oats can help not only reduce LDL (bad cholesterol), but also decrease waist circumference in overweight and obese adults as part of a 3 month weight loss program. Just 2 serves (40g each) of a wholegrain oat cereal each day as part of a weight loss program reduced LDL cholesterol by almost 10%, significantly more than lower fibre control foods as part of a weight loss program (5%). The even better news is; these favourable outcomes were noticed as early as 4 weeks into the study. Both groups lost around 2kg over the duration of the weight loss program, but the group eating oats lost significantly more weight from around their waist.

Oats are naturally rich in beta-glucan (a type of soluble fibre), considered to be responsible for the cholesterol lowering benefits of oats. More recently, another powerful component of oats has been linked to good health. Avenanthramides, a type of antioxidant has been found to help reduce the ability of blood cells to stick to artery walls. This effect could help reduce hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) which can in time lead to heart attack. One study also suggested these avenanthramides could help explain how oats can reduce the risk of colon cancer.

In addition to heart health, some evidence from initial investigations has shown oats can help reduce the risk of asthma in young children. The study conducted in Finland found early introduction (in the first 6 months) of oats into the diets of babies with an increased risk for type 1 diabetes was associated with a significantly lower risk of persistent asthma by the age of 5 years. These findings need to be confirmed in other populations.

Oats are an economical and versatile wholegrain that can provide the whole family with essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre for good health. Many food manufacturers have realised the health benefits of oats, and you can now enjoy the pleasure of eating oats all year round with new product developments such as oat breakfast biscuits, bread with added oats and many flaked and shaped breakfast cereals made from oats. Aim to eat 4 or more serves of grain-based foods (like oats, breads, breakfast cereals, pasta and rice) everyday - at least half should be wholegrain.

Sources:
1. Maki KC et al. Whole-grain ready-to-eat oat cereal, as part of a dietary program for weight loss, reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in adults with overweight and obesity more than a dietary program including low-fibre control foods. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010; 110;205-214
2. Andon MB et al. Stae of the Art Reviews: The oatmeal-cholesterol connection: 10 years later. AJLM 2008; 2:51-57
3. Virtanen et al. Early introduction of oats associated with decreased risk of persistent asthma and early introduction of fish with decreased risk of allergic rhinitis. B J Nutr. 2010; 103:266-273