Identifying Whole-grain Products
Whole-grain products can be identified by the ingredients list. Typically, if the ingredient lists "whole wheat," "whole meal," or "whole corn" as the first ingredient, the product is a whole-grain food item.
"Wheat flour" (as opposed to "whole-grain wheat flour" or "whole-wheat flour") as the first ingredient is not a clear indicator of the product's whole-grain content. If two ingredients are listed as grain products but only the second is listed as whole grain, the entire product may contain between 1% and 49% whole grain. Many breads are colored brown (often with molasses or caramel color) and made to look like whole grain when they are not. In addition, some food manufacturers make foods with whole-grain ingredients, but, because whole-grain ingredients are not the dominant ingredient, they are not whole-grain products. Contrary to popular belief, fiber is not indicative of whole grains. The amount of fiber varies from grain to grain, and some products may have things like bran, peas, or other foods added to boost the fiber content.
In Canada, it is legal to advertise any food product as "whole wheat" with up to 70% of the germ removed. While the resulting product will contain the benefit of fiber in the nutritional information, it lacks the more recently discovered health benefits of antioxidants found in the wheat germ. Canadian consumers can be assured of whole-grain products by a label stating 100% whole-grain whole wheat.
Similar to the distinction between whole and refined grains is that between whole pulses (peas, beans, and other related vegetables) and refined dal (a preparation of pulses or the thick stew prepared from these).
From AACC (American Association of Cereal Chemists) definition: "Whole grains shall consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked caryopsis, whose principal anatomical components - the starchy endosperm, germ and bran - are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact caryopsis."
Read more about this topic: Whole Grain
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