Wholegrain as recommended? Fazer’s products make it both easy and tasty
It is International Whole Grain Day on 19 November. But what is wholegrain, what is it needed for, and how can I get it? Wholegrain products are healthy, tasty and provide you with good energy every day, from morning to evening.
The latest nutritional recommendations include various changes for the Finnish diet. One of them is to increase the amount of wholegrain. For the first time ever, the recommendations include a recommended number of grams for wholegrain: at least 90 grams per day.
“The recommendations do not follow trends, but their goal is to improve the health of the population through nutrition. It may sound like a lot to get 90 grams per day, but it is easy to achieve when wholegrain is added to the diet sensibly and diversely,” says Fazer’s Marika Laaksonen, PhD (Nutrition).
Multiple paths to a wholegrain diet
When talking about wholegrain, the first thing that comes to mind for many is the familiar rye bread. Finnish people get the most wholegrain from rye bread, but it is not the only source of wholegrain.
“In terms of wholegrain, the type of grain doesn’t matter – for example, oat bread or wheat toast can also be wholegrain. A total of 57% of Fazer Bakery breads are wholegrain,” says Juhani Sibakov, Head of Innovation, Fazer Bakery Finland. “Our goal is that by 2030, 65% of our sales volume will be wholegrain bread,” continues Sibakov.
Therefore, the daily recommendation is easy and tasty to fill when wholegrain is used in a versatile and diverse manner.
“For example, by eating a slice of rye bread and a plate of wholegrain porridge in the morning, a piece of wholegrain toast or wholegrain oat bread for a snack and a couple of slices of Jälkiuuni wholegrain rye bread in the evening, you have reached the recommendation for the day,” Laaksonen summarises.
According to THL’s study*, Finns do not get enough wholegrain from their food. The biggest barrier to adding wholegrain to your diet is a lack of information.
“In a consumer survey conducted by Finnish Bread Information (Leipätiedotus ry), only 55% of the respondents knew that grain products were the only source of wholegrain. For example, many people think that you can get wholegrain from fruits and vegetables. Information must therefore be readily available. That’s why we tell you about the amount of wholegrain in our Fazer Bakery products on our website,” says Sibakov.
Protein from wholegrain, especially for a vegetarian diet
Unlike processed grains, wholegrain includes the entire grain, even the outermost layer. The shell and core contain the majority of the health-promoting properties of grains.
“Wholegrain contains fibre, carbohydrates, protein, good fats, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Wholegrain is good for the heart, brain and gut – it keeps us energetic and healthy throughout the day,” Laaksonen clarifies.
Many already know that you can get fibre from wholegrain. However, few know that wholegrain is also an excellent source of protein.
“Particularly today, when the nutritional recommendations emphasise reducing the consumption of red meat, wholegrain is an excellent choice as a source of protein. Grain products are the most important source of vegetable protein in our diet. Wholegrain products combined with legumes provide a fully balanced vegetable protein,” Laaksonen says.
Media contacts:
Tarja Kuusela, Communications Director, Fazer Bakery Finland, tarja.kuusela@fazer.com, tel. +358 40 587 6063
The Fazer media phone line is open Mon–Fri from 8 am to 4 pm, tel. +358 40 668 2998, media@fazer.com
Fazer Bakery Finland
Fazer is the bakery industry market leader in Finland. Fazer’s large bakeries are located in Vantaa, Lahti and Lappeenranta, Finland. The company has 139 in-store bakeries within grocery shops where artisanal bakers make bread by hand ión the shop premises using Finnish flour. In Finland, Fazer Bakeries employs approximately 1,700 people. In the manufacturing of the bakery products, approximately 94 per cent of the ingredients are Finnish.
Fazer Group
Fazer, The Food Experience Company, enables people to enjoy the best moments of their day. Our mission, Food with a purpose, builds on our strong more than 130-year heritage, consumer first approach and innovations to create the sustainable food solutions of the future. With our dedicated team of approximately 5,000 professionals, we focus on fast-moving consumer goods and our direct-to-consumer business in Northern Europe, and beyond with exports to more than 40 countries. Fazer’s operations comply with its Code of Conduct that is based on the Group’s values and the UN Global Compact. In 2023, Fazer Group had net sales of 1.200 million euros.
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