Denise Hauge

Overcoming the challenges of translating the us dietary guidelines into healthier grain-based foods

How can we translate the 2010 US Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations into grain-based foods that are more nutrient-rich, less calorie-dense, and more widely available to consumers? Grain-based foods are highly consumed and have the opportunity to be modified to provide healthier attributes. All segments of the food delivery system, from science (theory) to consumers (practice), need to work together in an integrated and multifaceted process that delivers grain-based foods richer in whole grain and fiber with smaller portion sizes and less solid fat, added sugars, and sodium, while still having a desirable taste profile and being accessible to the end consumer. A gradual shift in the amount of these ingredient/nutrient categories could be achieved by setting incremental goals through collective knowledge, targeted research, policy recommendations, and a supportive regulatory environment. A greater abundance of accessible, healthier foods in targeted food environments, in unison with nutrition education, may be a more realistic approach for helping consumers come closer to meeting dietary guidance.1

Developing and delivering healthier grain-based foods

Government agencies, scientific and trade organizations, and numerous health-interested groups in the United States and in nations around the globe are asking for changes in the food supply to promote improvements in human health. With disease rates escalating and greater dollars being spent on health care costs, improving the health of the population is becoming critical. Recommendations by organizations and authorities, such as Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid, suggest Americans consume a healthier diet with greater emphasis on fiber-rich plant foods-fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; less total fat and saturated fat; and fewer calories overall to work toward reducing the incidence of obesity and achieving better health for the population. To attain better health, all disciplines (scientists, food companies, government agencies, and trade organizations) must come together and collaborate to create a vision and strategic plan for human health promotion. Making gradual changes to shift the food supply and proactively engaging all grain-based disciplines can help facilitate success. Allowing time for consumers to adapt to changes to food products is a positive way to foster the success of healthier foods in the marketplace. Shifting research dollars and focus to include different perspectives within the supply chain can help in the development and delivery of healthier grain-based foods. The Grains for Health Foundation, a new model for shifting the food supply, seeks to facilitate collaboration across the supply chain, to create tasty healthier grain-based foods that will help consumers meet public health objectives such as the Dietary Guidelines

Whole grains in schools: A supply chain approach

Despite challenges and setbacks, school districts have incorporated whole-grainYrich foods into their menus. Student acceptance of these foods relies on a fluid and fully functional supply chain inwhich allmemberswork together toward a goal of continued innovation in tastywhole-grainY rich products. Nutr Today. 2015;50(3):135Y141 The status and future of whole grains changed dramatically with the January 2012 release of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Nutrition Standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. With whole-grain foods required on school breakfast and lunch menus, foods designated as wholegrainYrich quickly transitioned from aspirational to a mandatory part of schoolmeals. The food industry increased the development and production of whole-grain products for schools as a result. It now is incumbent on members of the supply chain for whole-grainYrich foods in schools to develop relationships and lines of communication for creating an efficient and effective system that ensures a consistent supply of whole-grainYrich products. The school foodservice industry is 1 of the most complex food business segments. It has a high number of purchase decision influencers, receives unprecedented scrutiny from the community, and utilizes a supply chain system that includes the USDA and group purchasing organizations in addition to the standard food distribution system, all while feeding tens ofmillions of school children every school day. It is critical to successfully manage this supply chain to reduce cost and increase efficiency. Viewing whole grains in schools from a supply chain perspective considers all stakeholders from both supply and demand sectors and facilitates a number of critical process steps that are necessary for delivering whole-grain foods to schools and their students. The whole-grain supply chain provides a flexible framework for analysis, creates a common language for all stakeholders, encourages cross-functional collaborationandplanning, andemphasizeshorizontal rather than vertical integration of all involved.

Food Technology Innovations: Formulating Grain-based Foods that Support Dietary Guidance

There is considerable pressure on the grain-based food industry to develop products that include more ingredients that support current dietary guidance and fewer ingredients that do not, while still maintaining a profitable business. Meeting this challenge requires new ways of working together throughout the food system. Overconsumption of calories is a part of the current food environment, and considerable emphasis has been placed on establishing dietary guidance for use by individuals to assist in improving dietary habits. This process should continue and continue to improve as new evidence becomes available. However, there is also a dire need to translate dietary guidance into recommendations for product development. Grain-based foods provide a unique opportunity for step-wise, gradual change over time to slowly increase whole-grain content in popular foods. A potential step in moving toward a coordinated infrastructure to translate dietary guidance into nutritionally improved food products may be the ...

Grains and Health

Public and private partnerships (PPPs) are a joint venture between the government, industry, and other public and private sectors. PPPs are typically formed to leverage expertise from different sectors to identify problems and work collaboratively to come to a common solution. This article discusses why PPPs are needed to solve the complex problem of getting healthier grain-based foods into the food supply. We introduce and describe three different research initiatives that require a PPP. Successful implementation of these initiatives is desperately needed to address the lack of healthier grain-based foods in our environment and current food supply.

Consumption and consumer challenges of wholegrain foods

Whole grain intake is associated with health benefits such as reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. However, lack of a global definition of what constitutes a wholegrain food complicates interpretation and communication of research findings. Many populations underconsume wholegrain foods due to both internal factors (difficulty in identifying wholegrain foods and their unique sensory characteristics) and external factors (availability, cost, and the convenience of refined grains). Approaches to introducing wholegrain foods include promoting them early in life, employing the repeated exposures technique, and minimizing sensory differences. Emerging trends include improving the nutritional quality of the final product. Future research may focus on outcomes that improve the healthfulness and availability of grain-based foods, while collaboration will be necessary to ensure that pivotal findings reach industry in a timely manner. Whole grains offer a unique opportunity to enhance diets globally.

Fibre-Rich and Wholegrain Foods: Improving Quality

Whole grain intake is associated with health benefits such as reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. However, lack of a global definition of what constitutes a wholegrain food complicates interpretation and communication of research findings. Many populations underconsume wholegrain foods due to both internal factors (difficulty in identifying wholegrain foods and their unique sensory characteristics) and external factors (availability, cost, and the convenience of refined grains). Approaches to introducing wholegrain foods include promoting them early in life, employing the repeated exposures technique, and minimizing sensory differences. Emerging trends include improving the nutritional quality of the final product. Future research may focus on outcomes that improve the healthfulness and availability of grain-based foods, while collaboration will be necessary to ensure that pivotal findings reach industry in a timely manner. Whole grains offer a unique opportunity to enhance diets globally.

Steady gains toward healthier grains: A grains for health foundation update

© 2011 AACC International, Inc. Modern diet books demonize grain-based foods as a root of individual weight management problems. Grains in diets have been reduced in portion size, ridiculed as empty calories, or even cut out of dietary patterns completely. However, current evidence-based dietary guidance recommends consuming about half of an individual’s caloric intake from carbohydrates. With the rise in popularity of whole grain products and increasing awareness of alternative grain sources, the grains community has a unique opportunity to shift the reputation of grains from empty and problematic to nutrient dense and full of nutrition and culinary opportunities. The grains community has a long history of working with public health officials to enhance the food supply in response to nutrient needs. Flour enrichment and fortification have decreased public health issues related to B-vitamin and iron deficiencies and neural tube birth defects. The current obesity epidemic now calls on the grain community to once again be leaders when responding to the public health need of making available more nutrient-dense, lower-energy options.

The grains for health foundation, AACC international, and the historical Minnesota Miller

A Lesson from the Historical Minnesota Miller In 1901, Colonel George D. Rogers presented a “History of Flour Manufacture in Minnesota” at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Historical Society. At the time of his presentation, Minnesota enjoyed the peak of her milling heyday, exporting flour internationally and winning prizes for the quality of the product (9). Rogers details the ingenuity of Minnesotans along with their ability to take on key partnerships, both domestic and international, that made the Minnesota milling industry thrive. Because of grain business’s successful past in this region, Minnesotans live uniquely positioned among multiple grain-based businesses and excellent institutions of grain research. It is a natural result that the Grains for Health Foundation (GHF) formed in February 2009 in Minnesota (U.S.A.) through the cooperation of multiple grain business partners, both domestic and international, and in collaboration with AACC Intl.