Grain Industry Groups Comment On Dietary Guidelines Report
July 21, 2010 | 1 min to read
New federal government dietary guidelines should use the term 'enriched' when referencing grains that are not defined as whole grains, rather than 'refined' and should maintain the long-cited recommendation to consumers to 'make half your grains whole.' Those were the key messages from U.S. grain groups in comments this week on the advisory committee report that will form the basis of updated dietary guidelines set to be issued later this year by USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The grain groups told government officials that continued use of the term 'refined' is inaccurate and confusing to both consumers and nutrition professionals and has an inappropriate negative connotation to the media and consumers.
The industry recommended using the term 'enriched' instead, since 95 percent of all refined/milled grains are enriched with niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, iron and folic acid, and terminology including enriched would be more in line with Food and Drug Administration labeling standards.
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