Nutritional aspects of bread and flour : report / of the Panel on Bread, Flour and other Cereal Products, Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy.

  • Great Britain. Panel on Bread, Flour, and other Cereal Products.
Date:
1981
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Nutritional aspects of bread and flour : report / of the Panel on Bread, Flour and other Cereal Products, Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/80 (page 1)
    1. Introduction 1.1. Bread has been a staple food of the British people for centuries but, over the past few decades, the amount of bread eaten in Britain and the contribution of bread and flour to the nutrient content of the total diet have decreased. 1.2 Since 1942, all wheat flour except wholemeal has been fortified with calcium carbonate, and thiamin was added to white flour during 1940-42. Following the recommendation of the Conference on the Post-War Loaf (Ministry of Food, 1945), thiamin, nicotinic acid and iron have been restored to white flour since 1953 when the ban on the milling of this flour was lifted. 1.3 Recently there has been increased interest in the importance of trace elements in the diet and in the nutritional aspects of dietary fibre. In 1974 members of the milling industry asked advice of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy about the function and desirability of the fibre in bread. 1.4 The need for the continued addition of certain nutrients to bread has been examined by expert Advisory Committees in 1956, 1960 and 1972 (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Ministry of Health, 1956; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 1960 and 1974). A further review seemed opportune and, in 1978, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy set up a Panel of experts for this purpose under the Chairmanship of Professor Sir Frank Young. Because of ill-health Sir Frank resigned the chair in December 1979 and was succeeded in January 1980 by Dr J H Cummings. The Panel met for the first time in June 1978, held seven meetings and had the benefit of discussion with a number of professional people and with representatives from industry (acknowledgements p.vii). 1.5 The Terms of Reference of the Panel were:— In the light of the available medical and scientific evidence, a. to consider the nutritive value of bread, flour and other cereal products and their importance in the diet, and b. to make any appropriate recommendations. 1.6 This report is concerned almost entirely with the nutritional aspects of wheat flour and of bread made from such flour. Other cereal products have not been considered in detail. Questions which relate to food additives or to contaminants and toxicity are matters for the Food Standards Committee’, the 1 The Food Standards Committee advises the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Secretary of State for Social Services, the Secretary of State for Scotiand, the Secretary of State for Wales and the Head of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland on the exercise of their powers under the Food and Drugs Act, 1955 and the corresponding enactments relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland, to control the composition and description of food. ——