Nutritional Quality of Wholegrain Cereal-Based Products Sold on the Italian Market: Data from the FLIP Study.

Margherita Dall’Asta,Donato Angelino,Rossella Dodi,Daniela Martini,Gaetana Paolella,Nicoletta Pellegrini

doi:10.3390/nu14040798

Abstract

The consumption of wholegrains (WG) is encouraged worldwide, but the lack of a common legal definition of such products leads to an unclear classification and identification on the grocery store shelf. In Italy, several products are generally sold as WG, but it cannot be determined if they are made entirely with all WG cereal(s) or if they are partially produced with WG ingredients (PWG). The aims of this study were to (a) survey the number of cereal-based food items formulated with WG, PWG, or refined (RG) present on the Italian market; and (b) analyse the nutritional quality, intended as nutrition facts, of WG products in comparison to PWG and RG. Nutritional information and declarations were retrieved from packs of 3040 products belonging to five different categories: breakfast cereals, biscuits, sweet snacks, bread, and bread substitutes. A descriptive analysis of the products and comparison of energy, macronutrients, fibre and salt among RG, PWG and WG products within each category was performed. In all categories, a major portion of the products did not contain WG ingredients. Results showed that the nutritional quality of RG, PWG, and WG products varied in relation to the product category and that WG inclusion cannot be always considered a marker of the overall nutritional quality of foods. Instead, it is necessary to evaluate the global product characteristics, and it is important to pay attention to differences between WG and PWG products that can be perceived by consumers as equivalent.

Highlights

Several cereals are key ingredients of many of the foods consumed worldwide on a daily basis
There is a notable presence of fibre and other micronutrients and bioactives concentrated in the bran layer which is almost totally removed during the milling process, resulting in much higher amounts in wholegrain (WG) cereal-based products than in the refined ones [3,4]
The European Food Safety Authority supports the definition of the American Association of Cereal Chemists, which states that WGs “consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked caryopsis, whose principal anatomical components—the starchy endosperm, germ and bran—are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact caryopsis”, while EU-sponsored HEALTHGRAIN forum agreed that “whole grains shall consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked kernel after the removal of inedible parts such as the hull and husk [3]”

Summary

Introduction

Several cereals are key ingredients of many of the foods consumed worldwide on a daily basis. WG cereals represent one of the key foods at the base of the Mediterranean Diet pyramid, which should be included daily and preferred to their refined counterparts [15] For all these reasons, dietary guidelines worldwide suggest an increase in the consumption of WG, even though quantitative recommendations of WG are not clearly defined and/or consistent among the countries [16]. The one recommended by the HEALTHGRAIN forum is that a WG food should contain “at least 30% whole-grain ingredients in the overall product and more whole grain than refined grain, both on a dry weight basis [16,19]” Because of this uncertain and arbitrary definition for WG products, only a few countries and health-promoting organizations around the world defined and approved food labeling criteria and health claims on WG and WG products, but this was not done unanimously [20]. It is well-known that the overall nutritional quality of a food product is the result of many different aspects, including but not limited to the energy, macro and micronutrient content, as reported in the mandatory nutrition declaration in agreement with the European Union Regulation n.1169/2011 [23]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion