Serve sizes of grain based foods in Australia

Abstract A survey was conducted of the recommended serve sizes used on the labelling of 807 grain based foods soldin Sydney stores in 2000. These values were compared with the serve sizes used in a variety of food selectionguides, including the Australian Guide to Health Eating (AGHE). In most food categories there was a greatdeal of variation in the serve sizes recommended, sometimes up to 20 fold. The most consistentrecommendations were for sliced breads, with most manufacturers recommending two slices as a serve, andready-to-eat breakfast cereals (one cup). The median values for cereal products were mostly lower than thetypical reported amounts consumed by adult Australians and those recommended in the AGHE. Therecommended serves for pulses were higher than the AGHE serves. It is suggested that food manufacturersattempt to standardise the values closer to those in the AGHE and to provide both raw and cooked servesizes, where appropriate. The AGHE also needs to be extended to include recommended serve sizes forincreasingly popular categories of grain foods such as crispbreads, noodle soups, cereal bars and couscous.