Eating out is not “rough”! 90% of catering businesses do not provide brown rice

"Eating brown rice" is the simplest way to consume whole grains, but for people who eat out, eating brown rice is something that is hard to come by. On the 20th, the Tung Foundation released a survey on the supply of brown rice in 100 bento, buffet, and vegetarian restaurants in 12 administrative districts in Taipei City. It was found that nearly 90% of the businesses did not provide brown rice, only 4 provided brown rice, and another 8 provided whole grain staples such as 5-grain rice, 10-grain rice, or millet porridge. Most businesses even said that they had never thought of supplying brown rice, and some businesses did not even know what brown rice was.

Director Xu Huiyu (center) of the Tung Foundation's Nutrition Group pointed out that European and American studies have also shown that consuming at least 50 grams of actual raw whole grains, or half a bowl of brown rice, every day can reduce the incidence of many chronic diseases. (Photo courtesy of Tung Foundation)

Director Xu Huiyu of the Nutrition Group of the Tung Foundation pointed out that the number of people eating out is increasing, the diet is too refined, and the intake of fiber from fruits and vegetables is limited. For the sake of health, "eating whole grains" has become an inevitable new trend. According to the new national dietary indicators of the Department of Health, it is recommended that people use whole grains as the staple food for all three meals, and at least 1/3 of them should be brown rice, purple rice, whole oats, whole barley, whole buckwheat, etc.

European and American studies have also pointed out that consuming at least 50 grams of actual raw whole grains and half a bowl of brown rice every day can reduce the incidence of many chronic diseases. Common whole grains include: brown rice, whole oats, purple rice, whole corn, brown coix seed, whole millet, whole barley, whole wheat, whole buckwheat, whole sorghum, etc.; among them, "brown rice" is the most easily identifiable whole grain. In addition, Chinese people's eating habits use rice as the staple food, so "eating brown rice" is the simplest way to consume whole grains.

Director Xu Huiyu said that eating brown rice can ingest vitamin B1, B2, niacin, vitamin E, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and other minerals, lignans, oryzanol, dietary fiber, etc., which helps control and prevent the occurrence of various chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and also helps control weight.

It should be noted that according to the Food and Drug Administration's "Whole Grain Product Claims and Labeling Principles", whole grain products must contain more than 51% of the total weight of whole grains in order to be named "whole grain" or after the name of the grain they contain. Therefore, if "brown rice" is mixed with white rice or other things, the ratio must be more than 51% (inclusive) to be called brown rice.

The Tung Foundation calls for "eating whole grains" to become an inevitable trend as the public pays more and more attention to health. Although the general impression is that only "vegetarian" and "organic store" operators supply brown rice, in fact, it is not only vegetarians or people with special health needs who have the demand for brown rice. Ordinary consumers are also paying more and more attention to health. Due to the busy lifestyle of modern people and the high proportion of eating out, we also call on catering operators to increase the supply of brown rice or other whole grain foods.