Xiangyangfang won the gold medal in the creative whole-grain bread competition

Modern people pay attention to health, and even bread is gradually tending towards "whole grain" or "whole wheat" to increase the amount of dietary fiber. However, some people think that whole grain bread is hard and dry and are unwilling to try it. However, a "Whole Grain Bread Master Competition" was held in the Taipei East District MRT underground mall today, the 18th. A total of 24 creative whole grain breads with good color, fragrance and taste were exhibited, attracting people on site to try them crazily. (Video/Photographer Huang Zhiwen)

In the "Whole Grain Bread Master Competition" held by the Tung Foundation, a total of 24 creative whole grain breads entered the final round. (Photography by Huang Zhiwen)

Xu Huiyu, director of the nutrition group of the Tung Foundation, said that three years ago, the proportion of Chinese people who consumed whole-grain bread was less than 1%. The main reason was that whole-wheat bread was difficult to make, as the bran in the whole-grain flour could easily cut off the gluten of the dough, making it difficult for the dough to rise; the germ was difficult to store; and bread with a higher proportion of whole grains had a harder texture, which was different from the soft taste preferred by Chinese people. With the continuous research and development of bakers, the proportion of whole-grain bread consumed by Chinese people has now approached 10%, but there is still considerable room for improvement.

In order to encourage the industry to develop more healthy and delicious whole-grain breads and give consumers more purchasing choices, the Tung Foundation, under the guidance of the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health, held the "Whole-Grain Bread Master PK Competition" for the first time, calling on baking experts from across the country to challenge themselves to create whole-grain bread that meets the principles of "51% whole grain ratio" and "less oil, sugar and salt". From the 104 registered works, 24 were selected after a two-stage review to enter the finals, and finally the top 3 and the most popular winning works were selected this afternoon on the 18th.

The "Whole Grain Smoked Mango Bread" developed by Yang Zhiwei (center), a baker from "Xiang Yang Fang", won the gold medal in the competition. (Photography by Huang Zhiwen)

The gold award went to the "Whole Grain Caramel Mango Bread" developed and produced by Yang Zhiwei, a baker at "Xiang Yang Fang"; the silver award went to the "Whole Wheat Country Taiwan Mango Bread" created by Zhang Shibin, a baker at "Wei Zhen Western Pastry Cake"; and the bronze award went to the "Whole Wheat Flour" bread produced by Gong Qinci, the chef of a five-star hotel. In addition, two types of bread won the Most Popular Award, namely the "Wolfberry Cheese Whole Wheat Bar" made by "Champs Elysees Bakery" baker Lu Qifeng, and the "Wholemeal Earth" bread developed by "Cosily Team" Zhang Zhihong.

Wang Huiying, technical director of the Food Division of the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health, Executive Yuan, said that according to the dietary guidelines released by the Department of Health, it is recommended that the public should consume 1 to 4 bowls of root vegetables and grains every day. In addition, according to the "Principles for the Claim and Labeling of Whole Grain Products", whole grain products must contain more than 51% of the whole grain content of the germ, germ skin and endosperm to be named "whole" or "rough". If it is less than 51%, it can only be labeled as "part of the ingredients use whole grain formula."

However, there are currently no relevant laws and regulations to regulate the labeling of whole grain products that should meet the 51% whole grain content requirement. Wang Huiying pointed out that the Tung Foundation has been commissioned to develop a system plan for the labeling and verification of whole grain products, and laws will be formulated in the future to regulate the industry.