Head of the Secretariat of Health and Food Security: The production of whole bread should be expanded

Kermanshah - The head of the country's health and food security secretariat, explaining the importance of healthy nutrition in preventing diseases, emphasized on increasing the production of wholemeal flour and developing the supply of wholemeal bread in the country's bakeries.

According to Mehr reporter, Seyyed Hassan Emami Razavi said on Friday afternoon at the World Food Day conference in Kermanshah, referring to the various aspects of food security: providing food and energy needed by the body alone is not enough to achieve food security, and the quality, health and nutritional value of products must also be seriously considered.

He considered bread as one of the main items consumed by households and added: Considering the high share of this product in people's food pattern, improving the quality of bread and providing everyone with access to a healthy and nutritious product should have a special place in the programs related to food security.

The head of the country's health and food security secretariat, referring to the relationship between nutrition patterns and non-communicable diseases, said: about 420,000 deaths are recorded in the country every year, of which 60,000 are related to non-communicable diseases. Hence, modifying food habits and paying attention to factors affecting health can play a role in the prevention of these diseases.

Emami Razavi stated that the intake of dietary fiber in people's daily diet is less than the required amount, and stated that the daily need of each person for fiber is estimated to be around 25 to 30 grams, while the average consumption of this substance in the country is around 14 grams. This distance shows the need to pay more attention to food rich in fiber.

He considered wholemeal flour to be one of the sources of fiber needed by the body and added: Every 100 grams of wholemeal flour has about 12 to 15 grams of fiber, and consumption of high-fiber foods can help improve the functioning of the digestive system and control blood sugar.

Referring to the nutritional value of wholemeal bread, the head of the country's health and food security secretariat stated: in the preparation of this type of bread, all the components of the wheat grain are used, and for this reason, in addition to fiber, there are also various minerals and vitamins in it. These features put the whole bread in a different position from the bread prepared with refined flour in terms of nutritional value.

Emphasizing that wholemeal bread is not the same as wholemeal bread, he said: adding wholemeal bread alone does not mean having all the characteristics of wholemeal bread; Rather, the type of flour used and its production method have an effect on the final quality of the product, and this difference should be taken into account in the implementation of the plan.

Referring to the state of wholemeal flour production in the country, Emami Razavi stated: Out of a total of 322 flour factories in the country, 114 units, equivalent to 35%, have wholemeal flour production in their plans. The development of this capacity can provide the ground for supplying the flour needed by more bakeries.

He also announced the increase in the number of bakeries producing wholemeal bread and added: The number of these units has increased from 1,621 last year to 2,142 units. In Kermanshah province, 60 bakeries are active in the field of bread production, which is still necessary to expand this supply network.

The head of the country's health and food security secretariat considered the cooperation of various institutions, the participation of producers and paying attention to the economic conditions of bakers as effective factors in the development of this project and noted: to increase the production and supply of whole bread, it is necessary to bring together bakers and provide suitable conditions for their activities, and improve the quality of wheat and the bread production process.

In the end, he emphasized the need to provide people with wider access to wholemeal bread and said: This plan should be developed in such a way that wholemeal bread is offered in more bakeries and more people can benefit from its nutritional benefits.