Accuracy of Consumers' Ability in Identifying Whole Grains Foods: Implications for Policy Change

Abstract

Americans continue to fall short on meeting recommendations for whole grain foods possibly because of the difficulty in identifying them. The objective of this research was to assess the accuracy of consumers' ability in identifying common whole grain foods and to determine if the accuracy differed by demographic characteristics. As part of a nutrition display, adults (n=349) viewed 11 foods consisting of 5 whole grains and 6 refined grain foods and then completed a questionnaire to identify what foods were whole grain. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were conducted. The mean (SD) age was 43.9 (17.9) years and the majority of participants were female (60%), white (86%), and had a Bachelor's degree or higher (63%). Less than half (43%) of participants were able to correctly identify all 5 whole grain foods. The whole grain foods identified incorrectly most often were popcorn (38%) and whole grain crackers (20%) while white rice (28%) and wheat bread (17%) were often incorrectly identified as whole grains. Participants who were non‐Hispanic (OR=2.996, P=.05), white (OR=5.829, P<.001), and who had more than a Bachelor's degree (OR=2.19, P=.05) were more likely to correctly identify all 5 whole grain foods. These results indicate that the ability to identify whole grain foods may be a barrier to consuming adequate amounts especially for some subpopulations. With a current lack of universal whole grain food labeling, these results also have implications for policy change.