Twelve major food companies have now signed up to a Code of Practice developed by the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC) for the labelling of whole grain products.
Goodman Fielder, Sanitarium, George Weston Foods, Nestle, Cereal Partners Worldwide and Bakers Delight are among those to embrace the new standard.
The GLNC has been collaborating with the Australian food industry to roll out the voluntary Code of Practice for Whole Grain Ingredient Content Claims to reduce confusion in supermarket aisles.
Under the new system, the amount of whole grain in foods will be identified as either ‘contains’, ‘high’ or ‘very high’ in whole grain.
Previously there was no industry standard for how whole grain content of foods was defined, making it confusing for consumers to know which foods were a better choice.
The move comes as the preliminary results of a new study reveal that around 75 per cent of consumers are not eating the recommended amount of whole grains each day.
The 2014 Australian Grains and Legumes Consumption and Attitudinal Study, which will be released in full in October, also shows a decline in the overall consumption of whole grain foods that Australian adults are choosing to eat each day.
Georgie Aley, managing director of GLNC, said the new industry standard will help people identify which foods actually contain a significant or higher amount of whole grain.
“The results of the study reinforce the compelling need for greater awareness of the nutritional benefits of grain foods accompanied with an industry standard to help people better understand the whole grain content in foods, and ultimately to make better food choices when filling their supermarket trolleys.
