Abstract
Flour, typically derived from wheat, rye, corn and rice is a pantry staple, providing structure to bread and baked goods. This study aimed to provide a cross-sectional analysis of flour for home baking, highlighting the nutrition composition of whole grain flour and identifying novel categories. An audit was undertaken in February 2020, in four major supermarkets in metropolitan Sydney (Aldi, Coles, IGA and Woolworths). Ingredient lists, Nutrition Information Panel, claims, and country of origin were collected. The median and range were calculated for energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, dietary fibre and sodium. Overall, 130 products were collected, including 26 plain flour, 12 self-raising, 17 plain wholemeal, 4 wholemeal self-raising, 20 bread-making mixes (4 were whole grain), 20 other refined grain (including corn and rice flour), 17 gluten-free, 3 legume, 4 fruit/vegetable, 4 coconut and 3 other non-grain (e.g., hemp seed, cricket flour) products. Plain wheat flour dominated the category, while whole grain (wholemeal) made up 19% of products, yet they contained significantly more dietary fibre (p < 0.001) and protein (p < 0.001). Self-raising flours were significantly higher in sodium (p < 0.001) and gluten-free products were lower in protein and dietary fibre, making legume, buckwheat and quinoa flour a better choice. Sustainability principles in fruit and vegetable production and novel insect products have driven new product development. There is a clear opportunity for further on-pack promotion of whole grain and dietary fibre within the category via food product labelling.
Highlights
According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), flours are defined as ‘products of grinding or milling of cereals, legumes or other seeds’ [1]
The flour category is primarily focused on wheat flour as plain flour or self-raising flour with added raising agents, either milled as white flour or whole wheat or wholemeal flour for use in home baking
This study aimed to provide a cross-sectional analysis of flour for home baking, highlighting the nutrition composition, benefits of whole grain flour and the variety of novel products within this category
Summary
According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), flours are defined as ‘products of grinding or milling of cereals, legumes or other seeds’ [1]. Flour lends structure to baked goods, like cakes, biscuits, pastry and bread, with a range in protein content to suit the purpose and desired outcome. Higher-protein flours provide a greater proportion of gluten and a stronger dough for products like bread and the reverse is true for use in cakes and biscuits. In Australia, wholemeal is considered whole grain within the FSANZ definition—‘the intact grain or the dehulled, ground, milled, cracked or flaked grain where the constituents—endosperm, germ and bran—are present in such proportions that represent the typical ratio of those fractions occurring in the whole cereal, and includes wholemeal’ [2].
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