One of the recommendations contained in the newest (2010) “Dietary Guidelines for Americans”\u00a0is to consume “at least half of all grains as whole grains.”<\/p>\n
You’d think that following such a recommendation would be pretty easy, no?\u00a0Dump the “balloon bread” and other white flour products in favor of their 100% whole wheat counterparts; switch from white rice to brown; ditch the Rice\u00a0Krispies for\u00a0old fashioned oatmeal\u00a0– badda bing, badda boom.<\/p>\n
But there’s no recommendation that’s\u00a0so straightforward that the food industry can’t\u00a0twist. Shortly after the recommendations were publicized, I started seeing quite a few front-of-package label claims, like “made with whole grains,” “rich in whole grains,” and – my favorite (Cheez-Its)\u00a0– “made with\u00a05 grams of whole grain in each serving<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Five whole grams???? Wowsers!<\/p>\n Seriously: that’s NOT much: 5 grams is roughly 17% of an ounce. It’s a piddling amount.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, labels like this are all but meaningless when it comes to assessing\u00a0products.\u00a0All a manufacturer has to do is add a sprinkle of whole grain flour to a predominantly white flour product,\u00a0to proudly proclaim that the product is “made with\u00a0whole grains” (or words to this effect).<\/p>\n