More whole grain foods on the menu

The food industry “is highly focused on making food healthier,” says Charan Wadhawan, AURI food scientist in Crookston. Whole grain food product introductions, for example, grew 20-fold from 2000 to 2010. Major food companies, such as Minnesota-based Cargill, are introducing nutritious “kid-friendly foods,” such as whole wheat breakfast cookies and whole grain tortillas.

Yet, just one percent of Americans consume the recommended three whole grain servings per day. That gives Minnesota wheat and barley growers an opening to communicate the nutritional and health benefits of eating more whole grains,
Philipp says.

The National Association of Wheat Growers is already focusing on this, Torgerson says. Per capita wheat consumption in the U.S. has been dropping since 1997, “but promoting the health benefits of these grains could help reverse that trend.”

Likewise, “Minnesota growers could develop a strategy to position their wheat and barley products as premier whole grain products,” says cereal scientist Neil Doty, N.C. Doty & Associates, Fargo, N.D., who wrote the value-added uses report in conjunction with the Praxis Strategy Group of Grand Forks, N.D.

To promote that effort, AURI is organizing industry forums for Minnesota millers, bakers, food manufacturers, and snack food companies to pitch some of the ideas in the report. “We’re excited to begin this phase of the project,” Philipp says.

“It is our hope that consumers will latch on to the whole grains dietary concept, and push food companies into purchasing specialty grains from the producers,” says Marv Zutz, director of the Minnesota Barley Growers Association.

Torgerson agrees. Minnesota wheat and barley growers are looking to “food industry players to move this along. If food companies develop new products that increase wheat and barley consumption, that will benefit growers, too.”

High beta-glucan barley: Packed with healthy fiber

Beta-glucan, the soluble fiber portion of barley, has been shown to lower cholesterol. New barley varieties that are high in beta-glucan have already been developed for Minnesota, says Zutz. Meanwhile, multinational food company ConAgra recently introduced SustaGrain® high-fiber barley flour and cereal flakes, which contain three times more soluble fiber than whole oats.

Demand for high beta-glucan barley could exceed one million bushels a year, according to Doty, the report author. So far, though, “food companies have been reluctant to contract for high beta-glucan barley,” Zutz says, and growers have been unwilling to take a chance on growing those varieties without contracts, because they aren’t suitable for malting.

“Our hope is that smaller food companies can make inroads into the food market,” Zutz says, creating a demand for high beta-glucan barley.

Aleurone flour: Abundant and super-nutritious

Aleurone, a component of wheat and barley kernels, is produced in large quantities as a byproduct of flour milling. Because it discolors refined flour, it’s sold as low-value animal feed. Yet, the aleurone layer is very rich in nutrients, especially vitamin B6, niacin and vitamin E, plus fiber and antioxidants.

Responding to growing demand for whole grain flour products, Horizon Milling, a division of Minnesota-based Cargill, has developed a proprietary process for milling aleurone flour. The company’s GrainWise® Wheat Aleurone offers food-makers a way to add dietary fiber and other nutrients to flour-based products without changing color, taste or texture, the AURI report says.

“As the public becomes more aware of the benefits of whole wheat and barley and their antioxidant contributions,” Doty says, “mill products like aleurone flour will be in demand to supply a concentrated source of nutrients.”

Hard White Wheat: Kids Like It!

The secret to getting kids to eat — and enjoy — whole grain foods could be hard white wheat.

Children often object to the color, texture and taste of traditional whole wheat products made from hard red wheat. But studies have found that school children couldn’t tell the difference between foods made with refined white flour and whole hard white wheat flour.

“Wheat breeders, millers, and food manufacturers involved in school feeding have embraced the use of whole white wheat to stealthily introduce whole grains into the school food service industry,” Doty says.

Hard white wheat is a niche crop grown in arid western North Dakota and Montana. Unfortunately, there are no varieties available now for Minnesota’s wetter climate, Torgerson says. So he sees little opportunity for Minnesota farmers to grow the specialty crop “unless there’s a breakthrough in variety development to prevent pre-harvest sprouting.”