Whole Grain Deception

You’ve got to hand it to cereal makers, bread makers and cracker companies:  They’re marketing geniuses.

I say this because a good friend of mine recently asked me a question that’s probably crossed the minds of millions of people:  “What’s better for you:  Whole grain or whole wheat?”

While natural health advocates like me know the answer to this question, it’s understandable why so many people don’t.  After all, wheat is a grain, so if there’s “whole” in front of the word “grain,” then that essentially means they’re the same thing, right?

Wrong!

That’s what the food industry wants you to believe.  They want you to believe that their product is healthy, now that it contains “whole grains,” something they didn’t have before.

But the fact of the matter is that they probably don’t have much more whole grains than they did prior to emblazoning their boxes with hoity-toity “Now with Whole Grain” labels.  But since the Food and Drug Administration has set an absurdly low standard for a product to qualify as being a “whole grain,” food companies can get away with their misleading claims.

“Made with Whole Grains” is a perfectly legal and accurate label, so long as the original cereal grain from which the food was processed makes up just 1 percent of the total ingredients.

One percent!!

It doesn’t get much more misleading than that, folks.  That’s propaganda at its finest.

Fortunately, a health and nutrition board from the European Union is taking the propaganda head on.  From now on, cereal makers in Europe will not be able to extol the virtues of their cereal without first meeting a threshold for having only so much sugar.

For instance, on boxes of Kellogg’s Frosties – the European equivalent of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes – labels read that Kellogg’s Frosties are packed with “B-Vitamins” and carbohydrates that give the body the fuel it needs.  However, since sugar makes up 37 percent of the ingredients, they’ll no longer be able to highlight the products positive points.

The same rule goes for Weetos, a chocolaty cereal that has trace elements of wheat.  Their packaging makes it appear as though it’s a healthy choice – complete with that “whole grain goodness” claim cereal companies are now known for – but a more thorough analysis tells a different story:  nearly 25 percent of the ingredients are pure sugar!

Consumer health advocacy groups are doing their best to make people aware of cereal company half-truths.  I’m confident more stringent guidelines will be meted out eventually as to what does and does not qualify as “whole grain.”

In the meantime, as the old saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover.  Don’t fall for cereal makers’ flashy labeling.  The only way to get an honest accounting of a product’s ingredients is by reading the list.  If “100 percent whole grain wheat” is not listed among the first two or three ingredients, put it back; they’re “whole grain” claims are nothing but a bill of goods.

If that phrase is among the first few ingredients, then the claims are legit.

Sources
dailymail.co.uk
examiner.com
cspinet.org
food.yahoo.com