What It Means to Be Whole

Filed in archive News on February 16, 2006

Health and wellness are this generation's mantra. To be fit, eat lots of whole grains, whole wheat bread, whole oats, whole this and that. With the dizzying array of food labelled "whole", sometimes I wonder what it really means. Now I don't have to think too much anymore.

The federal government through the Food and Drug Administration has finally issued guidelines on what makes up "whole grain" food. I suppose they have to now after last year's Federal Dietary Guidelines recommend that Americans eat at least three one-ounce servings of whole grains daily. The newly issued draft guidelines are meant for manufacturers but will be very helpful to consumers. The definition of "whole grain" includes "cereal grains that consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked fruit of the grains whose principal components -- the starchy endosperm, germ and bran -- are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain. Such grains may include barley, buckwheat, bulgur, corn, millet, rice, rye, oats, sorghum, wheat and wild rice".

Quite a mouthful but it only means the grains have to contain the three main parts of cereal grains, as they occur in nature.

From the FDA announcement:

The draft guidance states that although rolled and "quick oats" can be called "whole grains" because they contain all of their bran, germ and endosperm, other widely used food products may not meet the "whole grain" definition. For example, FDA does not consider products derived from legumes (soybeans), oilseeds (sunflower seeds) and roots (arrowroot) as "whole grains." The draft guidance specifically recommends that pizza only be labeled as "whole grain" or "whole wheat" when its crust is made entirely from whole grain flours or whole wheat flour, respectively.

Why am I obsessing over some whole wheat pasta with organically grown basil and tomatoes?