whole wheat flour not always whole grain

[purplefrog]

Am I the only one who didn't know that whole wheat flour is not necessarily whole grain?

I have just discovered that the organic w.w. flour I've been buying is not actually whole grain. The germ is removed, I assume so that it can be stored longer.

I feel really ripped off and deceived. I have now ordered some flour that is in fact whole grain, but it won't come for 3 weeks. I can't believe I wasted all that money & time buying a product that I believed was healthy, but wasn't really.

So anyway, if you're not sure if your flour is whole grain, you may want to look into it.

[Gale Force]

My husband and I have had little tiffs over things he's purchased and I'll sa "I wanted whole wheat." "But it is." "No it's not."

Does your wheat have a label? What exactly does it say?

[MCsMom]

Are you serious???? This is not something I wanted to hear. So what did the wheat say that tipped you off into realizing that it is not the whole grain???

[JElaineB]

I thought if something said "100% whole wheat" then it had to be made with the whole wheat berry. If it just says "wheat", "made with whole wheat", or "made with whole grains" then you are looking at a product that is not 100% whole wheat. Is that not correct? I hope not...

[Imvishta]

Subbing.

[tinuviel_k]

: I hate the way the food industry keeps trying to trick the public like that.
At least I know my flour is 100% whole grain. I know because I grind it myself!

[purplefrog]

I was looking through my local store flyer and saw this new flour called Nutri Flour. The label said "tastes like white flour, with the goodness of whole wheat". It is unbleached flour with bran added. I sent the company an e-mail and told them that without the germ, it is not the same as whole wheat. I gave them heck for trying to fool people into buying unhealthy products.

They replied that Nutri Flour is the same as THEIR whole wheat flour which is not whole grain. It does not contain germ.

So, I checked the label on my organic flour and it said 100% whole wheat flour. I phoned the company to find out if it is whole grain, and lo and behold, it is not!:

My Granny showed me a page from her 1932 school book that defines whole wheat flour as containing the endosperm and bran, but not the germ. I guess some people's definitions of whole wheat are not the same as others. To me, it should mean whole grain.

[sparkprincess]

Grrrr. That's so frustrating. I've wondered how some companies can make "whole wheat" bread so soft while others like Whole Foods is like cardboard!!

[Thystle]

Where did you order your whole grain flour from?

[artemis33]

WOW. Now I am even more motivated to save enough for my Nutrimill. I had no idea - I always thought 100% meant 100%!!! :

[NettleSongMama]

Wow, that IS annyoing!
I love my grain grinder. I find with everything from tomatoes to milk to eggs, home grown or home ground in this case is a world of difference! What I notice most of all is the huge difference in smell in fresh ground and store bought. I assume its because the store bought is usually already rancid.

[MichelleAnnette]

Wow, I had no idea that 100% whole wheat didn't mean whole grain. Who knows what I've been eating. Thanks for posting that. What does "100% whole wheat" have that white doesn't, and is it really healthier?

[momto l&a]

There is "white" flour that keeps the germ and sifts out the bran. It looks whole wheat.

[Imvishta]

Originally Posted by JElaineB

I thought if something said "100% whole wheat" then it had to be made with the whole wheat berry. If it just says "wheat", "made with whole wheat", or "made with whole grains" then you are looking at a product that is not 100% whole wheat. Is that not correct? I hope not...

I was under this impression, as well. Now, I'm confused.

Also, I was disappointed with the Sara Lee Soft & Smooth made with Whole Grain White Bread when I realized it was just made "with" whole grain, but wasn't whole grain. The way they had advertised it made it look like a whole grain bread. I thought it would be great for DS as most children don't care for whole grains, but, of course, they don't always get whole grains...

Is there a good national brand that's genuinely whole wheat by the description you all are giving here?

[Imvishta]

Originally Posted by NettleSongMama

Wow, that IS annyoing!
I love my grain grinder. I find with everything from tomatoes to milk to eggs, home grown or home ground in this case is a world of difference! What I notice most of all is the huge difference in smell in fresh ground and store bought. I assume its because the store bought is usually already rancid.

I looked up a few resources and found the reason the store bought is "already rancid" is that "whole grains are often more expensive than refined grains because their higher oil content is susceptible to rancidification, complicating processing, storage, and transport." So says Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_grain

A couple of other resources if anyone wants to help sort through what they're saying:

World's Healthiest Foods http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...dspice&dbid=66

American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC)
http://www.aaccnet.org/definitions/wholegrain.asp

Now, I'm still not sure how to read the labels!:

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by purplefrog

I was looking through my local store flyer and saw this new flour called Nutri Flour. The label said "tastes like white flour, with the goodness of whole wheat". It is unbleached flour with bran added. I sent the company an e-mail and told them that without the germ, it is not the same as whole wheat. I gave them heck for trying to fool people into buying unhealthy products.

They replied that Nutri Flour is the same as THEIR whole wheat flour which is not whole grain. It does not contain germ.

So, I checked the label on my organic flour and it said 100% whole wheat flour. I phoned the company to find out if it is whole grain, and lo and behold, it is not!:

My Granny showed me a page from her 1932 school book that defines whole wheat flour as containing the endosperm and bran, but not the germ. I guess some people's definitions of whole wheat are not the same as others. To me, it should mean whole grain.

The 'goodness' of whole wheat is not 100% whole wheat. It doesn't say 100% whole wheat because it's not. "Wheat' is *not* 100% whole wheat. Only 100% whole wheat is 100% whole wheat. It needs to be the first ingredient. 'Wheat' is not whole wheat. 'Goodness of ' is not whole wheat.

[purplefrog]

Originally Posted by UUMom

The 'goodness' of whole wheat is not 100% whole wheat. It doesn't say 100% whole wheat because it's not. "Wheat' is *not* 100% whole wheat. Only 100% whole wheat is 100% whole wheat. It needs to be the first ingredient. 'Wheat' is not whole wheat. 'Goodness of ' is not whole wheat.

I know the Nutri Flour that says "goodness of whole wheat" is not whole wheat, but the company has said that their 100% whole wheat flour is not whole grain. The brand of flour that I've been buying also says it contains 100% whole wheat, but it is not whole grain wheat. It is misleading. That was my point.

[purplefrog]

Originally Posted by MichelleAnnette

What does "100% whole wheat" have that white doesn't, and is it really healthier?

It has bran. I guess it is healthier, but without the germ, it is not the healthiest option.

[purplefrog]

Originally Posted by Thystle

Where did you order your whole grain flour from?

Just through my local HFS. The brand is called Anita's. It's made here in BC.

[nicolelynn]

Yeah, I also was deceived for awhile at Trader Joe's, as they have Organic Sprouted Multi-Grain bread, which I bought for awhile because I thought it was on par with Ezekiel 4:9. But one day I decided to buy their Organic FLOURLESS Sprouted 7 grain bread. Lo and behold when I compared labels I realized that the stuff I had been buying did infact contain plain unsoaked, unsprouted wheat flour. The later is 100% sprouted whole grains. Go figure.