Enriched & Whole Grains–Part 1
Maryann Durrant (USBE):
Next on to grains and breads. Examples of grains/breads on the food program include pasta, bread, rice, cereal, tortillas, crackers, quinoa, etc. There are two rules that you’ll need to follow when crediting grains on the food program. The first rule applies to all grains that are served and credited on the food program. All grains items must have a whole or enriched grain as the first grain ingredient. The second rule relates to whole grain rich foods. At least one of the servings of grains that you offer per day must be whole grain-rich. A whole grain rich product is one that contains at least 50% whole grain, with the remaining grain ingredients, if any, being enriched.
Before we go forward, we’ll talk a little bit about the difference between whole and enriched grains. There are three parts that make up a whole grain. The bran is the outside layer that contains fiber, B vitamins and trace minerals, the endosperm is the middle layer that contains carbohydrates along with some proteins. The germ is the nutrient rich core that contains antioxidants like vitamin E, as well as B vitamins and healthy fats. When all three components are included in a product, it’s a whole grain product.
To make a refined grain, the germ and the bran are removed, leaving only the endosperm. Remember that the bran and the germ contain the healthy fiber and vitamins and minerals. Without them, you’re left with the endosperm that only contains carbohydrates and a little bit of protein. That’s why whole grains are better for you than refined grains. To help make up for the vitamins and minerals that were taken away from the grain when the bran and germ are removed, grains can be enriched. This means that they add vitamins and minerals back into the grain. While this is better than nothing, whole grains are still the healthier option because the fiber and healthy fats aren’t added back to the refined grain.
So you can think of whole grains as the best option and enriched grains as an ok option. Refined grains that are not enriched aren’t able to be credited on the food program.
Now that you know a little about whole and enriched grains, how do you figure out whether you’re serving whole or enriched grains? The nice thing is that all you need to do is the check the label. In this label example, you can see that the first ingredient is enriched wheat flour, so this meets the requirements of an enriched grain.
Now what if you are making a grain product from scratch? You’ll just need to make sure that you purchase and use either enriched or whole wheat flour. Then you know the product meets the requirements.
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