USDA reviews food industry progress on fiber

February 4, 2008

The USDA has now given us a poster child for the food industry’s good intentions in helping to improve the American diet.  The agency’s new fact sheet on dietary fiber documents how the food industry has used technology to add fiber and whole grains to processed foods.  Even so, the total amount of fiber and whole grains available in the food supply just doesn’t seem to budge.   Why not?  The USDA says the grain-based food industry isn’t giving the agency the data it needs to demonstrate increases and that “a collaborative working relationship” is needed to get better data.   Getting more data from the food industry–especially about food composition–would be nice but isn’t going to help people eat more fiber-rich foods.  For that, how about eating unprocessed foods!


1 Comment

  1. “Even so, the total amount of fiber and whole grains available in the food supply just doesn’t seem to budge.”

    That’s easy to explain. We take fiber out of some foods and then add it to others.

    Comment by Migraineur — February 5, 2008 @ 5:02 pm

Leave a comment

By clicking "Add Comment" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use

Topics

5 a Day activity additives Advocacy agriculture alcohol American Dietetic Association antibiotics antioxidants beef bisphenol A books Bottled Water breast feeding Brian Wansink burger king calcium calorie labeling calorie labels Calories Cancer Candy center for consumer freedom Cereals Charlie Rose China chocolate cloned animals Coca Cola colbert consolidation Cooking measurements corn corn sweeteners Country of Origin Labeling CSPI Dairy diabetes diet and energy drinks dietary guidelines diets e coli eat less move more eating liberally faq Farm Bill fast food fats and oils FDA fiber fish Flaxseed food art food assistance food colors Food Composition food crisis food marketing food policy food safety food stamps food systems Framingham Heart Study Fruits and Vegetables FTC functional foods genetically modified grassfed health claims hfcs hormones Hugo drinks hyperactivity India infant formulas Interviews Job Ads juice drinks juices junk food kellogg kids diets King Corn Korea kraft krill Labels mad cow Margarines marketing to kids McDonalds meal frequency Meat meat safety media Monsanto movies natural New Zealand Nutrition Education nutrition symbols obesity obesity in kids Omega 3 Fats organic standards organics partnerships PepsiCo pesticides pet food Peter Jennings Phil Lempert photos Portion sizes pregnancy price of food pyramid Quotes from What to Eat recipes restaurants salt San Francisco Chronicle school food scoring systems shrek soft drinks sponsorship stevia Sugars supermarkets supplements surveys sushi sweeteners taste tomatoes toxins trans fat TV Ads tyson foods USDA vegetarian and vegan Vending machines videos vitamins wall street Whole Foods Whole Grains WIC Yearly Kos