Report on bread and flour / Food Standards Committee.

  • Great Britain. Food Standards Committee.
Date:
1960
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on bread and flour / Food Standards Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/80 (page 4)
    means the product derived from or separated during the milling or grinding of wheat, whether or not any of the wheat has been malted or subjected to any process, and includes meal but does not include separated wheat offals, separated wheat germ or semolina’’. 15. We consider that wheatmeal should be defined as flour containing not less than 0-6 % fibre calculated on the dry matter, and that only flour coming within this description should be described as ‘“‘wheatmeal’’. Wholemeal should be defined as flour which contains the whole of the products derived from the milling of cleaned wheat, and the use of the description restricted accordingly. The Addition of Nutrients A. Requirements 16. In collaboration with the Committee on Medical and Nutritional Aspects of Food Policy, we set up a Nutrition Panel to consider the question of nutrient requirements. Their report is contained in Appendix III to this report. 17. They recommended that no increase in the present levels of the three nutrients and calcium was required on the grounds that there was no nutritional justifica- tion for the addition of these nutrients in amounts exceeding the present statutory requirements. They further recommended that no addition of riboflavin or pyridoxine was required. 18. We accept the recommendations of the Joint Nutrition Panel. Since about 90% of all bread consumed is white, the Panel concerned itself mainly with white flour, but we consider that there is every justification for continuing the present requirement that all flours (with the minor exception of flour for experimental use etc., which is already allowed for) should be required to contain not less than the minimum quantities of the three nutrients at present prescribed. It may be necessary to modify enforcement procedure since there is evidence that even with the best manufacturing practice it can never be certain that a prescribed standard will be reached by each and every sample that may be examined. These difficulties are considered in paragraphs 27-44 of this report. 19. The minimum levels of nutrients laid down in the present regulations correspond approximately with those naturally present in a flour of 80% to 85% extraction. Thus wholemeal flour will contain sufficient of the necessary nutrients without the need for any addition. Most but not all wheatmeal flours at present marketed will also do so. We would have liked to recommend that wholemeal and wheatmeal should be required to contain sufficient of the nutrients without addition, but this does not appear practicable. Apart from the fact that such a recommendation would entail the banning of satisfactory wheatmeals at present produced, it would probably prove to be unenforceable. We think, however, that it would be right to expect that wholemeal should not contain any added nutrients. We further consider that the flour constituents of any mixtures (e.g. pre-mixes sold to bakers) should conform to the nutrient requirements. 20. We accept the view of the Joint Nutrition Panel that the padiadn of calctum to flour should be continued at present levels. They noted that even with the addition of creta to flour, the National Food Survey records showed that there was a deficit in calcium intake in the larger families compared with the allowance recommended by the British Medical Association’s Committee on Nutrition. Without the addition, the intake would, according to the survey, fall to about 70% of the recommended allowance. Even though some doubt has been ex-