Milling & Baking News - March 10, 2009 - 32

Industry Activities

Grains for Health Foundation created;
focus on health-related basic science
Continued from Page 1

a group of 22. Present were representatives of several prominent grainbased foods companies, including
Cargill, ConAgra Foods, Inc., and
Kellogg Co.; universities, including Kansas State, Purdue, Cornell
and the University of Minnesota;
associations, including The American Association of Cereal Chemists
International and the Wheat Foods
Council; and government, including the Agriculture Research Service
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Membership in the foundation
will be open to these categories of
groups.
The
meeting,
conducted
at
A.A.C.C.I. headquarters in St. Paul,
was the first of the group's board
of directors and scientific advisory
council. Gary Fulcher, a professor
and department head at the University of Manitoba, was elected chairman of the board.
Spearheading the initiative and
serving as president and chief executive officer will be Len Marquart, an
associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul.
Mr. Marquart, who has used time on
sabbatical from the university to help
organize the new foundation, said
the creation of the group represents
the culmination of an effort that began six years ago to foster collaboration between business, academia and
government toward issues related to
health and grain-based foods.
"We want to pull the different sectors together from the perspective of

figuring out how to prioritize, focus
and leverage research dollars around
key issues related to grain-based
foods," Mr. Marquart said.
He described the objectives as
business-based but altruistically focused on enhancing public health.
Mr. Marquart personally has experience
within two of the three
collaborative legs that
will form the Grains
for Health Foundation.
In addition to his work
in academia, he spent Marquart
eight years as a nutrition technical specialist and senior
scientist at General Mills, Inc.
Administrative services support
for the G.H.F. will be provided by
the A.A.C.C.I.
Elaborating on the basic research,
Mr. Marquart said the group would
focus principally, but not exclusively, on issues related to whole grains
and fiber. The objective will be to fill
a void in the current knowledge base
associated with grain-based foods.
Ultimately, this information will
help other grain-based foods groups
with their communications to the
public about the healthfulness of the
industry's products, he said. While
outside communication is a principal
activity of several industry organizations, media focus will not be central
for the G.H.F.
"We want to study, mechanistically, what is it about whole grains and
dietary fiber that would demonstrate
that these types of grain ingredients would be beneficial for human

Food safety highlights A.B.A. FTRAC meeting
WASHINGTON - Food safety, whole
grain guidance and labeling were among
the topics discussed as part of a recent
American Bakers Association Food
Technical Regulatory Affairs Committee
(FTRAC) meeting held in Chicago.
The meeting, which was held Feb.
27, reviewed key baking industry issues currently before Congress and
the Obama administration.
"I am extremely pleased with the
committee's focus at this crucial time,"
said Len Heflich, vice-president of quality systems at Bimbo Bakeries USA and
chairman of the FTRAC. "With Congress
and the administration poised to take
32 / March 10, 2009

Milling & Baking News

action on food safety and other technical
issues, it is important that our committee
stay ahead of the curve and set an aggressive strategy moving forward."
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention briefed the committee on
norovirus detection and containment
techniques, as well as updating the
ongoing peanut butter product recall.
Laurie Gorton, executive editor of
Baking & Snack, presented an overview
on recent developments in the North
American baking industry.
Other topics of discussion included
food safety proposals currently before Congress, A.B.A. comments to

health," he said. "We have associations based on epidemiological data,
but we don't have a clue in terms of
the basic mechanisms in terms of
why whole grains and fiber may be
good for human health.
"We need to get to the nitty gritty of why. That will provide business with additional information as
to why whole grains and fiber may
improve human health. If there is a
clear-cut answer, or if we get closer
to such an answer, it would help to
clarify communication."
In coming weeks and months, the
G.H.F. will explore potential issues
for study. For example, one possible
topic may be researching the ideal
method for assessing antioxidants
in grain-based foods, Mr. Marquart
said.
"Instead of producing research,
we want to convene experts who can
identify strategies in order to examine constituents in grains and how
they would relate to human health,"
he said. "We will be working with
A.A.C.C.I. to develop a database to
prioritize and leverage research dollars and eventually conduct research
through collaborative efforts."
While the principal focus of the
G.H.F. will be on basic research,
some emphasis will be given toward
school meals, specifically gradually
incorporating grain-based foods in
schools that are higher in whole
grains and dietary fiber and lower
in excess calories, fat and sodium.
Additionally, attention will be given to sustainable training - training young scientists, business and
health professionals to collaborate
in sustainable grain-based, multidisciplinary research projects that
promote public health. MBN
the Food and Drug Administration on
more whole grain guidance and thirdparty certification for inspectors, labeling and nutrition issues, and recent
allergen activities.
"With all the media focus on the
recent peanut butter product recalls,
Congress is poised to move forward
and take action on food safety legislation sooner rather than later," said Lee
Sanders, senior vice-president of government relations and public affairs at
the A.B.A. "The FTRAC member discussions ... helped to guide A.B.A. in
how it should approach this and other
critical, key issues."
The A.B.A. FTRAC will hold its next
meeting in Washington on June 16. MBN
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Milling & Baking News - March 10, 2009

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