Check the list of ingredients

If the first ingredient listed contains the word “whole” (such as “whole wheat flour” or “whole oats”), it is likely – but not guaranteed – that the product is predominantly whole grain. If there are two grain ingredients and only the second ingredient listed is a whole grain, the product may contain as little as 1% or as much as 49% whole grain (in other words, it could contain a little bit of whole grain, or nearly half).

Multiple grains get even trickier

If there are several grain ingredients, the situation gets more complex. For instance, let’s say a “multi-grain bread” is 30% refined flour and 70% whole grain. But the whole grains are split between several different grains, and each whole grain comprises less than 30% of the total.

The ingredients might read “Enriched white flour, whole wheat, whole oat flour, whole cornmeal and whole millet” and you would NOT be able to tell from the label whether the whole grains make up 70% of the product or 7% of the product. That’s why we created the Whole Grain Stamp program.

Fiber is not reliable

Fiber varies from grain to grain, ranging from 3.5% in rice to over 15% in barley and bulgur. What’s more, high-fiber products sometimes contain bran or other added fiber without actually having much if any whole grain.

Both fiber and whole grains have been shown to have health benefits. But they’re not interchangeable. So checking the fiber on a label is not a very reliable way to guess whether a product is truly whole grain.