FoodDrinkEurope and Fedima have issued a Technical Toolkit & Guidelines to Increase Whole Grains in Bread to help SMEs across Europe raise the whole grain content of their bread products. The toolkit notes that there is no harmonised EU definition of whole grain and no EU-wide regulation on whole grain levels, while outlining health benefits, the role of bread in whole grain intake, and rising consumer demand for higher-fibre foods. It provides practical steps for recipe reformulation, nutrition analysis, and labeling, and discusses production challenges and potential solutions such as adjusting dough formulations, processing conditions, and use of improvers. The report cites EFSA data and Global Dietary Database showing whole grain intake remains below targets in many European countries, with bread as a major source.
It highlights public-private partnerships like Denmark’s Whole Grain Partnership and Dutch campaigns as successful examples, and advocates a gradual transition by blending whole grain flours with refined flour. It also covers fermentation, enzyme technologies, fortification, and a range of product categories included in Annex 1. The toolkit aims to equip European bakeries to increase whole grain content, improve nutrition, and meet consumer demand while navigating technical and labeling complexities.
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