New labeling for Sara Lee® and Thomas’® whole grain products will benefit consumers

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) worked with the company that owns two brands, Sara Lee® and Thomas’®, to provide additional information disclosing the percentage of whole grain on the label for its Sara Lee® White Made With Whole Grain Bread, Thomas’® Plain Made With Whole Grain Bagels, and Thomas’® Made With Whole Grain English Muffins.

Prominently on the front package of the labels, these products will state the percentage of their grains that are whole grains. These percentages are: Sara Lee® White Made With Whole Grain Bread (32%), Thomas’® Plain Made With Whole Grain Bagels (25%), and Thomas’® Made With Whole Grain English Muffins (29%). In addition, where the claim “made with whole grain” appears on the products, the words “made with” will now be more prominent (i.e., at least 75 percent as large as the words “whole grain”).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) MyPlate guidance for healthy diets recommends that half of all grains eaten by consumers be whole grains. “CSPI believes that simply stating a product is made with whole grains, or even listing the number of grams of whole grain in the product is not enough for consumers to build a diet that meets the USDA’s 50% whole grain recommendation. However, by providing the percentage of whole grain content, Sarah Lee® and Thomas’® will help consumers make informed decisions about the grains they consume and enable them to build a diet that meets the 50% whole grain recommendation,” said CSPI Litigation Director Lisa Mankofsky.

CSPI hopes that other manufacturers of products containing some whole grain will similarly make their labels more informative for consumers.

Contact Info:  Contact Richard Adcock or Jeff Cronin.