FDA Gives Barley a Healthy Nod

In response to a petition from the National Barley Foods Council (NBFC), Spokane,WA, FDA recently issued an interim final rule authorizing manufacturers of barley products to claim a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

The ruling, effective Dec. 23, 2005, adds barley sources of betaglucan soluble fiber to an existing regulation authorizing a health claim on the relationship between certain foods—oat beta-glucan soluble fiber and soluble fiber from psyllium seed husk—and reduced risk of CHD (21 CFR 101.81). Barley-containing foods with labels bearing the health claim must provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving.

Since FDA had previously determined that beta-glucan soluble fiber from whole-oat foods effectively lowered blood cholesterol, evaluation for the proposed amendment centered on the effects of consuming betaglucan soluble fiber from barley on blood lipids. Results showed that consuming whole-grain barley or drymilled barley products in place of wheat and rice ingredients for four to five weeks significantly lowered serum total and LDL-cholesterol levels. The ruling concluded that, based on the studies reviewed, the serum-cholesterol-lowering efficacy of barley’s beta-glucan and of oat’s betaglucan are comparable, and “like oat beta-glucan, 3 grams per day of barley beta-glucan is a sufficient daily dietary intake to achieve a reduction in serum total and LDL cholesterol.”

Under the claim, eligible barley sources of beta-glucan soluble fiber include dehulled and hulless wholerain barley and certain dry-milled barley products, such as bran, flakes, grits, pearl, flour, meal and sieved barley meal. Wet-milled barley products are excluded, as FDA’s review determined this process may cause changes to the grain other than particle size and may change the physiochemical properties of the fiber.

The petition specified the minimum dietary-fiber content for these barley products as “representative of commercially available barley products in the United States” (on a dry- weight basis):

All barley is covered with a hull that processors must remove to reach the edible kernel. Three types of barley products are available: pearled, hulless and hulled.

“Barley has a distinct advantage over some other grains in that betaglucan soluble fiber is found throughout the entire barley kernel,” says Mary Sullivan, executive administration, NBFC. “In some other grains, the fiber is only found in the outer bran layer. So, if these grains are processed, the fiber can be easily lost. This is not the case with barley. Even more-refined products such as barley flour, barley flakes or barley meal contain beta-glucan soluble fiber which makes this grain an incredibly versatile ingredient for commercial food applications. We fully expect to see a significant increase in new barley foods development and production in the future.”