Milling & Baking News - March 21, 2023 - 7

TUES | 03 21 2023
Editorial
Long-term food intake trends
pose challenges for grain-based foods
A
head of deliberations about the
2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans (DGA), the US Department
of Agriculture has published a
study summarizing the public's eating
habits. The 125-page report catalogs the
share of the American diet accounted
for by major food categories, where food
is consumed and how the figures have
changed since 1977. Judging by the findings,
the DGA Scientific Advisory Committee
is likely to advocate for several
food categories more vigorously than for
grains.
" Dietary Quality by Food Source and
Demographics in the United States,
1977-2018, " offers baseline data for the
DGA Scientific Advisory Committee
as committee members examine how
the dietary habits of Americans have
changed during the last 40 years. In
addition to tracking intake of various
food types and nutrients, the report
breaks the categories down between
food at home, food away from home
(with a fast-food sub-category) and
schools. The data-rich report offers myriad
insights of interest to executives at
grain-based and all food and beverage
companies.
To make figures on different food categories
more comparable and applicable
across different demographic groups, the
historical data are provided in amounts
consumed per 1,000 calories of food
intake. The statistics suggest Americans
consume too little of numerous food
categories, not just fruits and vegetables.
For instance, density of dairy, meat and
seafood intake in 2017-18 all fell shy of
levels recommended in the 2020-2025
Dietary Guidelines. In the case of dairy,
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consumption in 2017-18 was 0.75 cups
compared with the Guidelines' recommendation
of 1.5 cups. Meat, poultry and
egg intake of 1.72 oz per 1,000 calories
was 7.5% below the recommended 1.86 oz.
The same is not true for grain-based
foods. The USDA data show US consumers
in 2017-18 took in 7% more grains than
recommended. Refined grains intake was
For the last several cycles, the grain-based
foods industry has struggled to convince the
US Departments of Agriculture and Health and
Human Services to cast grains in the positive
light these healthful foods deserve.
85% higher than recommended while
whole grains were 71% lower than recommended.
Whole grain intake in schools
rose sharply in the 2010s, peaking at
1.15 ozs per 1,000 calories, a dramatic
increase from 0.04 ozs in 1977-78 and 0.08
as recently as 2007-08.
Additional findings across different
food categories in the report are illuminative:
*
Intake density of added sugar is
higher than recommended, but not as
much as in the past. Added sugar consumption
was 7.9 teaspoons per 1,000 calories,
versus the 5.95 teaspoons recommended.
At 7.9 teaspoons, added sugar
in 2017-18 equated to 12.6% of caloric
intake, versus the 10% recommended
in the Guidelines. In the late 1990s and
early 2000s, added sugar intake was 9.45
teaspoons per day, or 60% more than recommended.
*
Total fats intake in 2017-18 accounted
for 32.3% of caloric intake, versus a recommended
range of 20% to 35%. Saturated
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fat accounted for 11.8% of caloric intake,
versus the 10% recommended. At 28.01
grams per 1,000 calories consumed, saturated
fat intake was the highest since the
1980s.
* Not only is sodium intake higher
than recommended, but at restaurants
it has been rising. Restaurant food in
2017-18 contained 2,325 mg of sodium per
1,000 calories, up from a recent low of
2,116 in 2013-14 and compared to a recommendation
of 1,150 mg. Sodium in school
meals, by contrast, has fallen to 1,536 mg
per 1,000 calories from a recent peak of
1,653 in 2011-12.
No single set of data will be dispositive
for the DGA Scientific Advisory Committee,
and the group will consider changes
in consumption that have been chronicled
since 2017-18. For example, consumption
of meat has been on the rise the last
five years. For the last several cycles, the
grain-based foods industry has struggled
to convince the US Departments of
Agriculture and Health and Human Services
to cast grains in the positive light
these healthful foods deserve. The latest
data suggest the task for 2025-2030 will
be no easier. MBN
Josh Sosland, Editor
We're eager to get your feedback.
editor@sosland.com
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Meyer Sosland
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