Enriched & Whole Grains–Part 2
Maryann Durrant (USBE):
Remember that there are two rules that need to be followed with grains on the food program. Another video discussed how to determine whether an item meets the first rule of being enriched. This video will discuss how to identify a whole grain rich item. Program sponsors need to serve at least one whole grain rich item a day.
There are six different methods for determining whether a product meets the whole grain rich criteria. You can use any of the methods that you choose and it only needs to meet the criteria of one of the possible methods. If you happen to notice that it meets the criteria for one method, but not another, it’s ok. You can still credit the item as a whole grain rich item since it met the criteria in one of the methods.
Method 1 and 2 are very simple. If the product you’re looking at qualifies as a WIC approved whole grain rich item, you know that it meets the requirements as a whole grain rich item on the food program. The second method is similar. If the food meets the whole grain rich criteria under the National School Lunch Program, you know it qualifies on CACFP as well.
Method 3 deals with the name of the product. In order for manufacturers to be able to name their product one of the names listed on the slide, it has to meet certain qualifications. If a product is labeled as any one of these exact product names, you know that it meets the requirements and can be credited as a whole grain rich item. All of these methods, including this list, are available to you in a handout, so don’t feel like you need to write all of this down. You can simply print off the handout and you’ll have all of the information you need.
Method 4 is similar to method 3 in that you’ll be looking at the packaging. If the product has one of the FDA whole grain health claims on the packaging, exactly as written on the slide, you know that the product would meet the whole grain rich criteria. Method 5 would be to get documentation from the manufacturer, such as a product formulation statement showing that whole grains are the primary grain ingredient by weight. If you’re making the product from scratch, we would need to see the recipe that shows that at least 50% of the grains included in the recipe are whole grains, with the remaining grains included (if any) being enriched.
The final method is the rule of three. For the rule of three you’ll be looking at the ingredient list of a product. The first grain ingredient would need to be a whole grain, and the next two grain ingredients (if present) would need to be whole, enriched, bran, or germ. There are a few things that you can disregard when looking at the labels. Grain derivatives, such as wheat gluten, wheat starch, and corn starch can be disregarded. Any ingredients that are labeled as 2% or less of a product weight can be disregarded. Please see the handout for tables listing ingredients that count as whole grains, enriched grains, items that can be disregarded, and non-creditable grains or flours.
Once you’ve found the whole grain rich items and are serving them on your menu, you need to make sure to document that you’re serving them. You’ll need to indicate on the menu which item is the whole grain rich item. You’ll also need to keep any documentation you’ve obtained in making sure that the product is a whole grain rich item. Examples of documentation that you would get would include a product formulation statement, information indicating that the product meets the requirements for the National School Lunch Program or WIC requirements, or, easiest of all, the product label. You don’t need to save the product labels. We’ll just check the items you have on hand to make sure that the product meets the requirements.
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