[X] Action Required
[ ] Informational
June 25, 2008
| To: |
All Child and Adult Care Food Program Sponsors |
| |
All Summer Food Service Program Sponsors |
Re: Crediting of Corn Meal (Cornmeal) and Corn Flour for Grains/Breads Component
Effective July 1, 2008, corn must be labeled as “whole corn” or “enriched” corn to be credited toward meeting bread/grain meal pattern requirement.
To be credited as a breads/grains component for the meal pattern for all Child and Adult Care Food Programs and Summer Food Service Program, grain products must be enriched or whole-grain, or made from enriched or whole-grain meal and/or flour. Bran or germ are credited the same as enriched or whole-grain meal or flour.
Background:
For a number of years, the Child Nutrition Programs allowed corn meal (cornmeal) and corn flour to be counted as whole grain for crediting grains/breads. This allowance was made because the standard of identity for “corn meal” and “corn flour” was interpreted as yielding a whole grain.
On February 17, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a draft guidance entitled Whole Grain Label Statements that contained the following statement: “Degerminated and bolted cornmeals should not be considered whole grain products because germ or bran has been removed during processing. Because the rest of the meal [flour] standards allow removal of some of the hull, these also should not be considered whole grain products”.
This clarification by FDA of the standards of identity for “corn meal” and “corn flour” indicates that these products (cornmeal and corn flour) should no longer be considered as whole grains for the Child Nutrition Programs. Whole-grain flour or meal is defined as the product derived by grinding the entire grain. If a flour or meal does not contain the bran and the germ, it is not whole grain.
How The Change Affects Your Program:
Effective July 1, 2008, to be credited toward meeting bread/grain meal pattern requirements; corn must be labeled as…
- “whole corn” (or other “whole” corn designations, such as whole grain corn, whole ground corn, whole cornmeal, whole corn flour, etc.) or
- “enriched” corn (or other “enriched” corn designations such as enriched yellow cornmeal, enriched corn flour, enriched corn grits, etc.)
Please make any required menu changes and inform staff and providers of this crediting of corn meal and corn flour for grains/bread component change.
If you have any questions concerning this memo, please contact your assigned specialist or me at (503) 947-5892.
Sincerely,
Lynne Reinoso
Manager, Community Nutrition
Child Nutrition Programs
Office of Finance & Administration