A reporter from the Beijing News found that "whole-wheat bread" is difficult to distinguish between true and false: adulterated wheat flour, suspected of false labeling
"Whole wheat bread" is the main ingredient of wheat flour
"It looks like whole-wheat bread, but it is actually added with syrup and caramel coloring to make the bread light brown." The official WeChat of the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau recently issued a reminder that real whole-wheat bread does not have wheat flour and must be 100% whole. Mai, it is recommended to eat less "fake whole wheat bread".
A reporter from the Beijing News recently conducted a survey of 13 bakery products labeled as "whole wheat" from 10 brands on the market and found that only 5 products meet the "true whole wheat" standard described by the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, and 4 This product uses whole wheat flour as the main ingredient, but also adds wheat flour ingredients; the four so-called "whole wheat breads" under Taoli, Yili, and Tianjin Belle Food Technology Company actually use wheat flour as the main ingredient.
According to industry insiders, there is currently no standard for whole wheat bread in China. As long as the product contains whole wheat ingredients, it is called "whole wheat bread." However, "partially added whole wheat" whole wheat bread is different from consumers' health perception and fat reduction or nutritional needs. Therefore, it is recommended that relevant standards be issued as soon as possible to regulate the claim or content of whole wheat to protect consumers' right to know.
Qiu Baochang, an expert from the Expert Committee of the China Consumers Association and director of Beijing Huijia Law Firm, believes that if a bakery product is labeled "whole wheat", its main ingredient should only use whole wheat flour and should not contain wheat flour, otherwise it is suspected of false labeling and concealment of ingredients. fact.
Visit some "whole wheat bread" with wheat flour as the main ingredient
"Whole-wheat bread is made from whole-wheat flour, which contains the bran, germ and endosperm of wheat. However, the first place in the list of so-called whole-wheat bread ingredients on the market is not whole-wheat flour, but wheat flour." Shanghai Market The Supervisory Authority recently reminded that “true whole wheat bread does not have wheat flour, it must be 100% whole wheat, and the first place in the ingredient list is whole wheat flour, followed by water and others."
Based on this, a reporter from the Beijing News recently conducted statistics on 13 types of bread with “whole wheat” claims from 10 brands sold online and offline, and found that only 5 products met the “true whole wheat” standard. Canton high-fiber whole wheat special sliced bread, Mancoton super mellow whole wheat sliced bread, Bimbo natural whole wheat sliced bread, Yijinchun whole wheat original toast, seven years and five seasons rye whole wheat bread. The ingredients list of these products does not contain wheat flour or wheat-containing ready-mixed flour ingredients, and whole wheat flour ranks first in the ingredient list.
The remaining 8 products, or the whole wheat flour in the ingredient list, are ranked first, but they also add wheat flour or premixed flour ingredients containing wheat flour; or although they are called "whole wheat bread", they are listed in the ingredient list. Wheat flour comes first, and whole wheat flour ranks second or third.
The Beijing News reporter also noticed that the proportion of whole wheat contained in these products is not the same (pictured). On the other hand, Mancoton fortified whole-grain bread and related products from Yili, Tianjin Belle, Yijinchun, and Suzhou Daoxiang Village are not marked or clearly marked with the proportion of whole wheat added.
The national standard "General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods" (GB 7718-2011) stipulates that various ingredients should be arranged in descending order of the amount added when manufacturing or processing food, and ingredients with an added amount of not more than 2% may not be arranged in descending order. The first place in the ingredient list is generally the one with the most content in food ingredients. From this, the proportion of whole wheat ingredients added to the above 13 breads can be roughly judged.
In addition, reporters from the Beijing News visited and interviewed bakery stores such as Hollyland, Bread Talk, and Wedome. Among them, the first place in the ingredient list of whole wheat slices sold in Hollyland stores is wheat flour, and the content of whole wheat flour is marked as ≥10%; the whole wheat toast or bread products sold in Bread Xinyu and Wedomei stores are not marked as whole wheat The clerk is not clear about the whole wheat content in the product.
The founder of a chain bakery brand in Beijing told the Beijing News that the name "whole-wheat bread" is only partly added with whole-wheat ingredients, and even the main ingredient is wheat flour. The name is really easy to misunderstand consumers. But for bakery stores that mainly produce and sell products on-site, their products generally do not have labels and ingredient lists, and there is no legal requirement to label the content of each ingredient.
Data show that the bran in whole wheat flour has a high content of dietary fiber, which can increase satiety; germ is rich in vitamin B, vitamin E and other ingredients, which are usually extracted and added to other foods or medicines. The wheat flour that people usually eat, namely refined white flour, has been removed from the bran and germ components.
On online and offline platforms, many consumers who buy whole-wheat bread are based on the concepts of "satisfaction", "no oil and sugar", "fat reduction" and "health". Whether the product is "true whole wheat", Whether the energy label is true or not has become the most concerned issue. Beijing consumer Ms. Li said, “I never look at the ingredient list when I buy whole wheat bread. If I know that the main raw material of the product is wheat flour, it is no different from ordinary bread. I would never buy it.”
There is no industry standard to follow
"Our whole wheat bread is not made of 100% whole wheat. If it is made from whole wheat, we can't swallow it at all." To the problem of adding wheat flour to its nominal whole wheat bread, Taoli Bread's official customer service explained on August 14 that the above The wheat flour that ranks first in the product ingredient list is flour. Although only part of the whole wheat flour is added, the calories are much less than ordinary bread.
Mr. Kong, the person in charge of a food processing company in Tianjin, told the Beijing News, “The difference between whole wheat flour and wheat flour is whether it contains bran and germ. At present, there is no specific implementation standard for whole wheat bread, as long as the product contains whole wheat flour. It is called whole wheat bread and has no specific content requirements."
According to statistics from the Beijing News reporter, most of the above-mentioned 13 types of "whole-wheat bread" implement the national recommended standard "Bread" (GB/T20981-2007). The standard only stipulates the shape, color, texture, taste, physical and chemical indicators of bread categories such as soft, hard, shortening, and conditioning, and does not set specific limits on the proportion of ingredients such as whole wheat.
As far as the raw materials of whole wheat flour are concerned, according to the "Whole Wheat Flour" standard (LS/T3244-2015) issued by the former National Grain Administration in July 2015, whole wheat flour refers to whole wheat as the raw material and made by the milling process. And the relative ratio of wheat endosperm, germ and bran is basically the same as that of natural whole caryopsis.
With reference to this standard, the raw materials of whole wheat flour sold on the market are mainly divided into two types, one is whole-grain ground whole wheat flour, and the other is a compound flour added in proportions of wheat grain bran, germ and endosperm. The customer service of a whole wheat flour manufacturer in Henan stated that these two products can be called whole wheat flour. Nevertheless, most of the whole wheat flour manufacturers adopt corporate standards, and the overall standards are different.
The Beijing News reporter noted that the above two kinds of whole wheat flour are used in bread products. For example, Mancoton high-fiber whole wheat bread and Bimbo natural whole wheat bread use compound whole wheat flour.
A person in charge of a large chain baking company told reporters that the whole wheat bread currently on the market uses compound whole wheat flour or "wheat flour + whole wheat flour" as raw materials, especially chain bakery brands. "Whole wheat flour tastes rough, and most of them are made with 100% whole wheat flour by some unique bakery or baking brands."
sound
●The concept of adding whole wheat is different from nutritional fortification. Bread products with a small amount of whole wheat flour are not misleading consumers, but whole wheat flour is indeed healthier than refined white flour. When consumers buy whole-wheat bread, they should look at the content of their specific ingredients and should not simply judge from the name. In addition, there are also problems with the whole-grain function claims of many products. Whole-grain is only trace elements and more dietary fiber. It does not have any magical effect. It should be a reasonable diet.
——Yun Wuxin, senior member of American Food Technology Association and member of Scientific Squirrel Association
●If the bread product is labeled "whole wheat", its main ingredient should only use whole wheat flour and should not contain wheat flour, otherwise it is suspected of false labeling of ingredients and concealing facts, which has nothing to do with whether relevant industry standards have been formulated.
——Qiu Baochang, expert of the Expert Committee of China Consumers Association and director of Beijing Huijia Law Firm
Writing/Beijing News reporter Guo Tie