Baking & Snack - May 2004 - 146

NUTRITION NEWS
FDA calls for labeling clarity
The Food and Drug Administration will propose several changes in packaged
food labels and labeling regulations to carry out recommendations of an Obesity
Working Group created last August by FDA commissioner Mark B. McClellan.
The proposals include placing new emphasis on
calories within the Nutrition Facts panel, authorizing
obesity-related health claims, asking restaurants to provide nutrition information and increasing enforcement of
serving-size regulations.
The agency also will propose regulations to govern the use of label claims
for foods with reduced-carbohydrate content.
"Counting calories is critical for people trying to achieve and maintain a healthy
weight," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson. "This

new report highlights FDA's overall strategy for getting consumers accurate, helpful
information that allows them to make wise food choices at home, at supermarkets
and in restaurants. Taking small steps to eat a more balanced diet and to stay physically active can go a long way to reverse the epidemic of obesity that
harms far too many Americans."
FDA deputy commissioner Lester M. Crawford pointed
out that the working group's report "concluded that there
is no substitute for the simple formula that 'calories in must
equal calories out' in order to control weight."
The agency said it also will begin rulemaking procedures to consider
whether it should allow health claims on certain foods that meet FDA's deﬁnition of reduced or low calories.

Group discusses importance
of enriched grains

Study links low
folate levels to depression

Acrylamides formed
in bread crust

Last month, representatives from the American
Bakers Association, Wheat Foods Council and
North American Millers Association met with
US Department of Agriculture ofﬁcials to discuss
concerns over the treatment of grain-based foods in
the Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee (DGAC)
process and the Food Guide Pyramid review.
Lee Sanders, ABA vice-president for regulatory
and technical services, said, "ABA is very concerned
that during the recent DGAC [discussions] there was
no mention of the importance in daily diets of enriched bread and other grain foods that serve as a
major source of vitamins, minerals and folic acid.
"The committee said that folic acid and other
vitamins could be consumed through supplements,
and they were considering new language regarding
supplements for the guidelines," Ms. Sanders continued. "Given the fact that the government mandated folic acid fortiﬁcation of enriched grains in
1998, FDA and USDA should utilize these products
and promote them as a source of folic acid rather
than direct consumers to supplements."
According to Eric Hentges, director, USDA Center
for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, there is much
work to be done before the guidelines
are ﬁnalized. He assured the group
that the 14 research papers, recently
submitted by WFC, ABA and
NAMA on both whole grains
and enriched grains, would
receive full consideration.
USDA ofﬁcials also indicated there
would be an emphasis on increasing consumption of whole grains in the diet in the
new messages that accompany the Dietary
Guidelines and Food Guide Pyramid.

Sample data taken from an ethnically diverse
population reveal a relationship between low folate
levels and various stages of depression, according to
a study funded by the Agricultural Research Service
of the US Department of Agriculture published in the
April issue of Agricultural Research.
As part of the study, epidemiologist Martha Savaria
Morris and colleagues used data from a diagnostic
questionnaire. The survey assessed lifetime depression in more than 3,000 people to examine associations between folate levels and history of depression.
According to ARS, the data showed that 2,626
people exhibited no signs of depression, 301 had
major depression and 121 had chronic low-level
depression. Tests were also conducted to measure
folate in red blood cells and serum.
Researchers determined that those with signiﬁcant or low-level forms of depression had lower
concentrations of folate than those who had never
been depressed.
The lowest levels belonged to participants who had
a major depressive episode lasting at least two weeks
but had been free of symptoms for up to a year.
"This was a surprise, because our hypothesis was
that low folate status causes depression," said Ms.
Morris, who is with the Nutritional Epidemiology
Program at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, MA. "But the data tend to suggest that folate levels drop after the onset of depressive symptoms. The
study is not deﬁnitive, so we don't know for sure yet
which is the cause and which the effect. But people
who have major depression should have their folate
checked, and if it's low, they need to correct it."
Since 1998, FDA has required the folate fortiﬁcation of all enriched cereal grain products .

In the March 2004 issue of the Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the
American Chemical Society, Swedish scientists
(N. Surdyk et al.) published the article, "Effects
of Asparagines, Fructose and Baking Conditions
on Acrylamide Content
in Yeast-Leavened
Wheat Bread." In
a reproducible model
system,
which
corresponds to industrial yardsticks, researchers
found that that 99% of all acrylamides are formed
in the crust. The addition of the amino acid asparagine increases the acrylamide content as expected,
while the addition of fructose does not change it.

146 / BAKERS PRODUCTION MANUAL / May 2004

New data doesn't
change FDA's advice
In acknowledging it has discovered acrylamide
in a wide array of foods, the Food and Drug
Administration said, "Based on the current
understanding of the science, FDA continues to
advise consumers to eat a balanced diet, choosing a variety of foods that are low in trans and
saturated fat and rich in high-ﬁber grains, fruits
and vegetables."
Dr. Rhona Applebaum, executive vice-president and chief science ofﬁcer for the National
Food Processors Association, said the NFPA
agrees with FDA's advice but added that consumers should "continue to follow established dietary
guidelines and eat a well-balanced diet consisting
of a wide variety of foods in moderation."

Baking & Snack - May 2004

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