Whole Grain-Rich FoodsNew Requirements for the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program

Outline

• Overview of Final Rule for Whole Grains• Overview of Whole Grains• Identifying Whole Grain-Rich Products• Other Whole Grain Considerations• Summary of Whole Grain Requirements

Overview of Final Rule for Whole Grains

Final Rule

• The USDA published the final rule for the Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs January 26, 2012

• The nutritional standards for school meals had not been updated for 15 years prior to the publication of the final rule

School Meal Patterns

• Update amended NSLP and SBP regulations in order to change meal patterns and nutrition standards to align with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs)• Quantities for food components were adjusted to be

consistent with the DGAs and MyPlate• Serving sizes to include in the meal pattern were

determined through review and assessment of 24 nutrient targets

Meal Pattern Requirements for Whole Grains

• Crediting using oz eq standards begins July 1, 2013 (SY2013-2014)

• Minimum Serving Size• Effective July 2012, daily minimum requirements are

in place• Breakfast: 1oz eq minimum, regardless of age

group• Lunch (K-5): 1 oz eq minimum• Lunch (6-8): 1 oz eq minimum• Lunch (9-12): 2 oz eq minimum

Meal Pattern Requirements for Whole Grains

• Minimum Serving Size• Daily minimums for grains may be be met by offering

multiple foods• For example: for a 1 oz eq minimum, 0.5 oz eq can be obtained

from one grain and 0.5 oz eq from another grain item

• 0.25 oz eq is the smallest amount allowable for crediting towards quantities of grains.

Meal Pattern Requirements for Whole Grains

• Maximum Serving Size• Memorandum SP 11-2013 lifted the weekly maximum

limits for grains in SY 2012-2013• Memorandum SP 26-2013 extended flexibility for SY

2013-14 for breakfast and lunch. Must still be meeting daily and weekly minimums.

Meal Pattern Requirements for Whole Grains

• Whole Grain-Rich Requirement - Breakfast• Beginning July 1st, 2013

(SY 2013-2014)• Half of all grains offered during the school week at

breakfast must meet the whole grain-rich criteria• Beginning July 1st, 2014

(SY 2014-2015)• All grains offered during the school week at

breakfast must meet the whole grain-rich criteria

Meal Pattern Requirements for Whole Grains

• Whole Grain-Rich Requirement - Lunch• Beginning July 1st, 2012

(SY 2012-2013 and SY 2013-2014)• Half of all grains offered during the school week at

lunch must meet the whole grain-rich criteria• Beginning July 1st, 2014

(SY 2014-2015)• All grains offered during the school week at lunch

must meet the whole grain-rich criteria

Overview of Whole Grains

What is a Whole Grain?

• Whole grains contain all the edible portions of the cereal grain seed or kernel• Bran• Endosperm• Germ

• If a food product retains the same proportions of bran, endosperm and germ as the original grain, it is considered a whole grain product.

Commonly Eaten Whole Grains

• brown rice• oatmeal• rolled oats• whole grain barley• whole grain cornmeal• whole rye• whole wheat bread• whole wheat crackers• whole wheat pasta

• whole wheat sandwich buns and rolls

• whole wheat cereal flakes• whole wheat tortillas• wild rice

Identifying Whole Grain-Rich Products

Whole Grain-Rich Criteria

• For the purposes of reimbursement, a whole grain-rich food is :

- Any grain food that is 100% whole grain

Or

- Any grain food that contains a blend of whole grain meal and/or flour and enriched meal and/or flour of which at least 50% of the total flour is whole grain

NOTE: Whole grain-rich products must contain at least 50% whole and ANY remain grain, if any, MUST be enriched.

Identifying Whole Grain-Rich Products

• Schools can use the following elements as a simple checklist to evaluate if a grain product meets the whole grain-rich criteria (Based from SP 30-2012)• Food must meet Element 1 and at least one

component of Element 2 in order to qualify as a whole grain-rich food

Identifying Whole Grain-Rich Products

• Element 1• The food item must meet the oz eq requirement for

the grains component as defined by the new guidance (SP30-2012)

Identifying Whole Grain-Rich Products

• Element 2• The food item must meet at least one of the following:

a) Whole grain component per oz eq must be at least 8.0 grams or more for Groups A-G. For Groups H-I, the volumes or weights listed must be offered to credit as one oz eq.

- Please refer to Exhibit A: School Lunch and Breakfast Whole Grain-Rich Ounce Equivalency Requirements for School Meal Programs for more details

Identifying Whole Grain-Rich Products

• Element 2• The food item must meet at least one of the following:

b) Products include the FDA-approved whole-grain health claim on its packaging

“Diets rich in whole grain foods and other plant foods and low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.”

OR

“Diets rich in whole grain foods and other plant foods, and low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may help reduce the risk of heart disease.”

Identifying Whole Grain-Rich Products

• Element 2• The food item must meet at least one of the following:

c) Product ingredient statement lists whole grain

first

Element 2c Criteria Details

- For Non-Mixed Dishes (i.e. bread, cereal)• Whole grain must be the primary ingredient by weight (with the

exception of water). • If whole grain contents comes from multiple whole grain

ingredients, the combined sum of all whole grain ingredients may be considered the primary ingredient by weight, even if the first ingredient is not a whole grain• For example: a bread item made of three grains may list the

ingredients as follows: enriched wheat flour (40% of grain); whole grain wheat flour (30% of grain); whole grain oat flour (30% of grain).Since the sum of the whole grain wheat and whole grain oat is 60%, the amount of whole grains is greater by weight, than the amount of enriched flour (40%). Therefore this product would qualify as whole grain-rich.

Element 2c Criteria Details

- For Mixed Dishes (i.e. pizza, corn dogs)• Whole grain must be the primary grain ingredient by weight

(a whole grain should be the first grain on the ingredient list)• For foods prepared by the school food service, the recipe is

used as the basis for calculations to determine whether the total weight of whole grain ingredients exceeds the total weight of non-whole grain ingredients.

Other Whole Grain Considerations

Battered and Breaded Products

• SP 26 -2013 Extending Flexibility in Meat/Meat Alternate and Grains Maximums for School Year 2013-14

• Will not need to be count toward maximum week requirements.

Flour Blends

• A “Flour blend” may be listed as part of an ingredient declaration with the parts of the blend listed in parentheses

• For example: Ingredients – Flour blend (whole wheat flour, enriched flour); sugar; cinnamon...

• When school food services are preparing foods onsite using flour blends the program operators will need to know either that:- The whole grain content is at least 8.0 grams per oz eq

Or

- The weight of the whole grain is greater than the first ingredient listed after the flour blend, such as sugar in the example

Adding Whole Grains to Child Nutrition Menus

• The following are some suggestions for incorporating whole grains into NSLP and SBP menus• Whole grain-rich ready to eat (i.e. yellow box Cheerios) or cooked

(i.e. oatmeal) breakfast cereals• Whole grain-rich waffles or pancakes• Whole grain-rich muffins• Whole grain-rich bagels• Whole grain-rich toast

Adding Whole Grains to Child Nutrition Menus

• The following are some suggestions for incorporating whole grains into NSLP menus• Whole grain-rich breads, rolls, or buns• Whole grain-rich tortillas or taco shells• Whole grain-rich pretzels• Whole grain-rich pita pockets or sandwich wraps• Whole grain-rich cornbread• Whole grain-rich crackers or cookies

Summary of Whole Grain Requirements

Ounce Equivalent Requirement

• Beginning July 1st, 2013 - All grain products must be credited on oz eq standards (SY2013-2014)

• The grain component weights for oz eq can be found in Exhibit A: School Lunch and Breakfast Whole Grain-Rich Ounce Equivalency Requirements for School Meal Programs

Whole Grain-Rich Requirements

• Beginning July 1st, 2012 – Half of all grains offered at lunch must be whole grain-rich (SY2012-2013)

• Beginning July 1st, 2013 – Half of all grains offered at breakfast must be whole grain-rich (SY2013-2014)

• Beginning July 1st, 2014 – All grains offered at breakfast and lunch must be whole grain-rich (SY2014-2015)

Questions and Comments?