Americans are slowly getting the positive message about whole grains, but we still have a ways to go, according to a new University of Minnesota study of data on more than 9,000 people from a national nutrition survey. The study, funded by General Mills, found that ready-to-eat cereals, oatmeal and breads and rolls accounted for about two-thirds of whole-grain intake. Only 7.7% of adults, however, consumed at least the recommended three ounce equivalents daily, and even fewer children were getting enough.
Another survey, by marketing research firm Packaged Facts, reports that 56% of US shoppers say they are cutting back on white bread-and not just because of (mostly unfounded) worries about wheat or gluten. Consumers are switching from white to whole-wheat bread, with about 60% saying theyre trying to seek out whole-grain products. Overall, 54% of consumers now include whole-wheat bread in their grocery carts, up from 45% a decade ago, while white-bread purchases have dropped from 51% to 40%.