Barley Glucans Added to FDA Oat-Heart Claim

Barley Glucans Added to FDA Oat-Heart Claim

WASHINGTONBased on thetotality of scientific evidence, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasamended the existing oat beta-glucan heart health claim to allow certain barleyproducts, whole grain barley and certain dry milled barley products asappropriate sources of beta-glucans eligible to claim they could reduce the riskof heart disease. The interim final rule, effective Dec. 23, 2005, stipulatesbarley-containing foods with labels bearing the health claim must provide atleast 0.75 g of soluble fiber per serving.

In response to a petition filed by Spokane, Wash.-basedNational Barley Foods Council (NBFC), FDA (www.fda.gov) reviewed 11 humanclinical trials for review, deeming five of these sufficient for considerationof proposed amendment. The studies showed consuming whole-grain barley ordry-milled barley products in place of wheat and rice ingredients for four tofive weeks significantly lowered serum total and LDL-cholesterol levels. Based on this review, FDA concluded theserum-cholesterol-lowering efficacy of barleys beta-glucan and of oatsbeta-glucan are comparable, and like oat beta-glucan, 3 g/d of barleybeta-glucan is a sufficient daily dietary intake to achieve a reduction in serumtotal and LDL cholesterol.

Under the claim, eligible barley sources of beta-glucansoluble fiber include dehulled and hulless whole-grain barley and certaindry-milled barley products, such as bran, flakes, grits, pearl, flour, meal andsieved barley meal. However, FDA excluded wet-milled barley products afterdetermining this process may cause changes to the grain other than particle sizeand may change the physiochemical properties of the fiber.

Barley has a distinct advantage over some other grains inthat betaglucan soluble fiber is found throughout the entire barley kernel,said Mary Sullivan, executive administrator for NBFC (www.barleyfoods.org). Insome other grains, the fiber is only found in the outer bran layer; so if thesegrains are processed, the fiber can be easily lost.