WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Bakers Association strongly supports efforts by First Lady Michelle Obama and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to achieve more nutritious and healthful school meals that improve the dietary habits of school children and protect their overall health.
“The first lady, working with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, has provided valuable leadership in this critical area. We look forward to working closely with the White House, USDA, and our nation’s schools to increase the availability of healthy grain foods served as part of school meals,” stated ABA President and CEO Robb MacKie.
However, MacKie noted that the final standards do not follow the 2005 Guidelines, or even the 2010 Guidelines, in their treatment of grains. The 2005 and 2010 Guidelines continue to recommend that Americans make half of their daily grain servings whole grains. Yet under the proposed rule, two years post-implementation, all grains offered during the school week must be “whole grain-rich.”
“We fully support increasing consumption of whole grains among school children,” stressed MacKie. “However, we feel it is important to remember that enriched grains have important health benefits as well.” Of particular note for young people are the positive influence enriched grains have on energy, learning, and digestive health.
“Enriched grains are an important source of antioxidants, fiber, B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron, and numerous other vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. In both their whole and enriched forms, they provide fuel the body needs to meet its energetic and cognitive needs. This obviously makes them extremely critical for school-aged children,” added ABA Senior Vice President Lee Sanders.
MacKie also pointed out that the final standards define “whole grain rich” as those foods containing at least 51 percent whole grains. However, with six different definitions for what constitutes a “whole grain” currently in use among various federal agencies, he expressed concerns about how school administrators and manufacturers will know what products comply and how they should be labeled. “While the new standards do provide some additional guidance in this area, we continue to urge USDA and FDA to work together to set policy establishing a consistent definition of the term ‘whole grain’ as soon as possible,” he said.
About the American Bakers Association:
The American Bakers Association (ABA) is the Washington D.C.-based voice of the wholesale baking industry. Since 1897, ABA has represented the interests of bakers before the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and international regulatory authorities. ABA advocates on behalf of more than 700 baking facilities and baking company suppliers. ABA members produce bread, rolls, crackers, bagels, sweet goods, tortillas and many other wholesome, nutritious, baked products for America’s families. The baking industry generates more than $102 billion in economic activity annually and employs more than 633,000 highly skilled people.
Source: American Bakers Association