Whole wheat? White? Or something in between? (Business Wire)Is white bread with added whole grain still just white bread?
That’s the question swirling around one of the most popular breads in the country, Sara Lee’s “Soft & Smooth” white bread. Like regular white bread, “Soft & Smooth” is made with enriched bleached flour. But about one-third of the flour in “Soft & Smooth” is whole-grain.
Bleached flour is stripped of key nutrients and fiber, which makes bread soft, airy and last longer. But such refined foods are frowned on by nutritionists, who instead recommend bread made with whole grains. Whole-grain breads contain the whole kernel, which has three layers — the fiber-rich bran outer layer; the endosperm middle layer; and the germ, the grain’s nutrient-dense embryo. The problem is, whole-grain breads taste, well, grainy, and many adults and kids don’t like them.
So Sara Lee in 2005 introduced “Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Bread.” The added whole grain bumps up the fiber content to 3 grams a serving — that’s the same amount found in some 100 percent whole-grain breads — but because it contains bleached flour, it still tastes and looks like white bread. Unlike 100 percent whole-grain breads, which list “whole-grain flour” as the first ingredient, Soft & Smooth lists whole grains third on its label, after bleached enriched flour and water.
For that reason, Sara Lee is facing a legal challenge from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group that accuses the firm of misleading consumers who buy “Soft & Smooth.” Among other complaints, the group doesn’t like Sara Lee’s use of the terms “whole grain goodness” in its marketing campaigns, which it says wrongly suggests that Soft & Smooth is a real whole-grain bread. And C.S.P.I. says Sara Lee is falsely claiming that the bread is as nutritious as whole wheat bread.
“This ‘whole-grain’ bread is mostly refined white flour, the kind of flour that health authorities recommend Americans eat less of,” said C.S.P.I. executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “Sara Lee is attempting to put a whole-grain halo on a bread that is not whole wheat.”
A Sara Lee spokeswoman said the company has been clear to consumers that Soft & Smooth is a partial-whole-grain bread that tastes like white but has some of the benefits of whole wheat. “It helps consumers who love that white-bread feel to start incorporating some whole grains into their diet,” said spokeswoman Sara Matheu.
The real lesson from the latest white bread debate is that consumers need to pay attention to bread labels, which are notoriously misleading. Often, breads with hearty-sounding words like “7 grains,” “cracked wheat” and “multi-grain” on the label are made with bleached flour and brown food coloring rather than healthful whole grains. Some bread packages use terms like “100 percent wheat,” which gives many shoppers the wrong impression they are buying 100 percent whole wheat bread.
And many multigrain varieties contain less than 2 percent of the grains they promise on the front of the package. The key is to look at the ingredient list. If a “whole” grain is not the first ingredient and if it contains any bleached, enriched flour, then it’s not a 100 percent whole-grain bread. Another clue is to look at the fiber content. Most whole-grain breads have at least 3 grams of fiber per serving, although some will have more. Notably, Wonder Bread now offers a 100 percent whole-grain white bread made from an albino-wheat variety, but the color is slightly darker than most white breads.
But Sara Lee says that just as some consumers drink 2 percent milk instead of skim or whole milk, some bread lovers want the added nutrition of a partial-whole-grain bread that still has the “feel of sticky white bread.” “There are a lot of consumers who won’t ever eat whole grain and won’t give up white bread,” said Ms. Matheu. “It’s like a transition bread.”
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From 1 to 25 of 80 Comments
I find most commercial breads are tasteless, have poor texture, and have too little fiber. The few that have more whole grains and fiber tend to taste like cardboard. If I want to eat a slice of twigs and weeds then I will buy one of those so-called whole grain breads- but frankly- ugh. I buy a honey-oatmeal bread at a local bakery that is made with whole grains. Probably it is not much better in terms of nutrients than most supermarket breads but it tastes much better. I do not eat more than a slice or two a day for breakfast and look to get most of my fiber and nutrients from other sources. Eating one of those partial grain breads would be right up there with claiming that white bread with marshmellow fluff is a health food.
— anonmomI am confused. Aren’t we supposed to eat whole grain because of the fiber? If the Sara Lee has the same amount of fiber as other whole grain products, what is the problem?
— jA quote from Michael Pollan:
Rule of thumb: if you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.
— ConsumerFiber is the only component of whole grains that has a strong body of evidence supporting any sort of health benefit. However, some suggest that the various phytochemicals found in whole grains may also be beneficial. A strong definition of various intermediate whole grain levels may be helpful to consumers but food labeling is at best confusing and at its worst outright deceitful. I design baked goods for a multi-national food corporation and even I sometimes find labels to be confusing. In addition, I’m not a big fan of “stealth health” products. Whole grain baked goods will tend to be denser and will not have the same kind of neutral flavor or palette feel of those made from refined flour. The sooner people accept this, the better. I make all of my own breads and use each type for applications that suit their particular strengths. A tip for the home baker: concentrated raisin juice does a lovely job of rounding the bitterness that some whole grains impart in a bread and adds a nice, complex sweetness. Also, products such as Ultragrain or using Durum flour can help you make a faux white bread if you must.
-As an aside, I remember earlier iterations of the product mentioned in this article using cotton fiber as an ingredient (it may still contain cotton fiber). This makes me think of Catch-22
— eyeBlissFrom the passage we learned that bleached flour making white bread, despite that it tastes good, is nutritiously no good, while whole-grain bread is good to health but tastes grainy, not welcomed by many. In that case there appears nothing wrong for the bread manufacturers to produce another kind of bread, the ‘transition bread’, to offer the advantages of both kinds of breads. Of course, this is subject to clear and correct labelling of the contents, letting consumers to make a wise choice of their own. Also, the name of the bread is important: it should not be misleading. After all, it’s the consumer who has to pay and his/her own health which matters.
— Kevin ShumI have given up eating breads that are labeled 100% whole grain etc instead I eat wheat Germ bread. While it is more expensive, I go for Ezekial, I think that it tastes better, and has less carbohydrates than regular bread. As for the grainy taste- I am a fruit and nut person so I love it! People do not like what they do not know, they have it in their head that they do not like whole wheat this or that therefore they do not try it, even though they say they do not like it. People should just try to eat what is good for them, and eat it in moderation. Maybe then obesity would not be so prevalent.
— KLAs to the last person, A it is false advertising. B bleached white flour does not have as much nutrients for a person as whole wheat, and helps add to the obesity epidemic.
To J,
— kalebergIt’s not just the fiber. White flour tends to spike blood sugar in many people. It’s not the greatest choice for people with insulin resistance, for example.
The commercial breads have some superflous preservatives. Whether there’s wheat, there’s bound to be something preserving it inside.
— AllisonTo J (#2): Fiber is not the only benefit of whole grains over refined grains. Refining removes both the bran (source of fiber) and the germ (source of many vitamins, minerals, and beneficial oils.) And any natural food is going to contain more components than what we are currently aware of — so even if you take white bread, add sawdust (fiber source!) and fortify it with a few B vitamins (as is done with many refined grain products) it is not nutritionally equivalent to 100% whole grain bread.
Eating bread with a small proportion of whole grain flour is somewhat better than eating 100% refined bread. But I don’t like how the bread manifacturers are misleading about it, and plaster “Whole Grain!!” all over the package,leading people to believe they are actually eating 100% whole grain bread.
— TMLTo answer ‘j’, real whole grains contain more than just fiber. Did you know that some breads add sawdust to their bread to give it more fiber? Check out the website for World’s Healthier Foods and read their whole grain info: http://www.whfoods.org And, breads are just the beginning of a whole grain adventure - oats, barley (add to soups), brown rice, corn.
Once I switched to whole grain products, I started liking them. I did it because I was convinced 100% whole grains were healthier - and I wanted my kids to grow up loving whole grains and they did. There are so many breads, cereal, muffins, crackers, and other grain products to pick from that it really IS confusing and some of them taste gross. You have to keep experimenting.
But buyer beware: learn to decipher what you are buying. I use the first 5 ingredients as my guide. Like Tara said, the food item has to start out with a whole grain. The fronts of packages are often very misleading. Flip the package over and read the label and ingredients list. I agree with #1 - start with a local or grocery store bakery for bread rather than the bread aisle.
Or, make your own dough with an unbelievably easy recipe posted at http://www.feedingthekids.com. It can be used for rolls, pizza crust, pretzels, etc.
— Ellie TaylorIf you can’t read a nutrition label (including knowing that the order of the ingredients indicates how much there is in the product), you’ve got a lot bigger problems than Sarah Lee advertizing.
Our government actually does a decent job of making food companies tell us what’s in their products. It’s a consumer’s responsibility to read the ingredient label before buying a new product, and no one who chooses not to has a right to complain about what’s in (or not in) their food.
— MariaThe best tasting bread that I ever ate was make in northern Turkey. The bread was make with 100% whole wheat, water, yeast and salt. Forty years ago when whole wheat bread was not widely available, I started making bread with 100% stone ground whole wheat. After a few years, when whole wheat bread became available in health food stores, I started buying those breads. After discovering that whole wheat bread was only required to contain 51% whole grain to be call “whole” wheat, I returned to making bread with 100% whole wheat flour, water, yeast and salt. The benefits to me of home made bread have been reduced hunger between meals, better regularity, better flavor and longer lasting freshness. It is not difficult to make bread (humans have been doing it for 10,00 years), but I wish that I could find a bakery that make sour dough bread with 100% whole wheat.
— bpfI guess someone doesn’t like Sara Lee.
— NotamooseIf your kids are like mine they wont touch nutty whole wheat breads so this might be a way to get a little more grain and fiber into their diet by “disguising” it. Ill give this bread a try.
— nathan” Bleached flour is stripped of key nutrients and fiber, which makes bread soft, airy and last longer. ” - Im curious to know what your source for this statement is, because it is contradicted to my experience. I’ve found that if you keep whole grain breads refrigerated they will last for months. Both white and wheat will turn hard after a week or two, but once white has turned hard there is no going back. Throw a hard piece of whole grain in the toaster (just long enough to heat it, but not long enough to brown it) and it will be soft and edible again.
I, like probably every other American, was raised on white breads. But I started eating whole grains a few years ago for health reasons and now think they’re much tastier than whites. In fact i wont even eat white anymore - tastes like cardboard to me. The nutty (I would not use the word “grainy”) flavor of whole grains is much more, well, flavorful once you get used to it.
— KMFrom TPP — I’ve been told this by food companies and nutritionists over the years, but there is a reference to the basis for milling flour in this FDA food pyramid link.
Please. Who doesn’t know that white bread is garbage? Let’s talk about why all but about two offerings of whole wheat, whole grain, or otherwise apparently healthful breads are adulterated with a pile of added sugars, particularly corn syrup.
— jennaWhy is it so hard for even whole wheat eaters to get decent bread?
This bread controversy reminds me of spinach (or tomato) pasta, vegetable (flavored)chips, and similar foods that claim to be healthier versions of food that have recently been considered less than healty.
Whole grain breads are the better nutritional alternative for many of the reasons given by the many comments above. Amazingly, people do not read all the ingredients, nor investigate how much of the healthier ingredients are actually contained in the products. Thus they pay dearly for only minimal health gains.
Sciece Editor
— Reader001http://www.polijam.com
At some point, it is up to the consumer to understand that ADVERTISING is designed to get you to buy a product, and it is her responsibility to be informed. As bpf pointed out, the information is mostly there on the labels. Country of Origin labeling, and labeling of GMO products would be helpful, too. But the government can’t hold our hands through every step of life. At some point, we need to be responsible.
— YanOh, please. Fiber IS sawdust, whether it’s from a tree or the husk of a grain of wheat. The carbohydrate which we can’t digest is cellulose. A/K/A “fiber.” A/K/A “wood.”
The only other carbohydrates (and grains are almost 100% carbohydrate) are simple sugars and complex sugars, a/k/a “starch.” Complex sugars are immediately converted by your body into simple sugar.
So if you eat white bread, you’re eating sugar. If you eat whole grain bread, you’re eating sugar with some ground-up wood mixed in.
Bon apetit.
— JohnAs someone who prefers white bread but knows that wheat bread is better for my health, I’ve wanted to try this for a while. Unfortunately, it is not available in the northeast anywhere. Wonder has a similar bread, but from all reports it’s not very satisfying.
— Greg AndrewGreat quote from Michael Pollan! Thanks to the person who posted it!
I almost always have a hard time shopping for bread. Except for Ezekiel Bread and Natural Ovens of Manitowoc Bread, it seems I’m always reading lists of ingredients that aren’t FOOD or that started out as food but have had their essential valuable ingredients stripped from them.
Go get ‘em, CSPI!
— ShaynieThe problem with most white flour is not so much what the refining take out of it as what the bleaching puts into it. The bleaching agent, Potassium bromate is a recognized carcinogen in most developed nations including China. The US with its arcane system of regulating food products is on of the only modern countries that allows it in food. Recently the Chinese had to pull thousands of cans of Pringles from the shelves of grocers because of the potassium bromate content. It seems that the Pringles which were manufactured fot the US market some how got shipped as foreign market Pringles which don use bleached flour. Now there’s a turn around for you.
— TomIt’s strange.. as a very picky eater when I was a child, I hated refined white bread and loved whole wheat bread. A really dark rye makes me happy these days.
It is a shame, though, to find out now that my favorite bread as a kid (Oroweat 100% whole wheat) is made with high fructose corn syrup.
— KatharineFor those who are willing to bake their own bread, there is “white whole wheat” flour available. It is made from a different variety of flour than regular whole wheat. Bread baked with this flour looks and tastes more like traditional white bread. I have found this flour at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. I am sure it is available elsewhere as well.
— dmanN.B. Some gluten should be added to the dough. If you plan to use this flour, look for a recipe tailored for this flour.
Like Katherine, I’ve stopped buying breads that I grew up eating [Pepperidge Farm, Arnold] because all the corn syrup and soybean oil have so changed the taste and texture of the bread that it no longer scans as “food” to me.
— Rhet