Activities of the ICC Whole Grain Initiative

The following ICC Whole Grain Initiative international working groups are actively engaged in driving whole grain acceptance and increasing whole grain product availability worldwide:

1.      Food Policy working group

2.      Processing, Reformulation, & Supply Chain Engagement working group

3.      Communications working group

4.      Economic Evaluation & Affordability working group

5.      Asia-Pacific Region working group

Additionally, the WGI is supporting a “special project” on the topic of Whole Grains & Sustainability, partnering with environmental scientists and other experts through an interdisciplinary approach.

1. Food Policy and WG Intake Recommendation working group

By consolidating the evidence for the health benefits of increased whole grain consumption, the Whole Grain Initiative can engage policy makers and food regulatory authorities to advocate for harmonized, coherent food policies that promote the consumption of whole grains including national dietary guidelines, front-of-pack nutritional labelling, and whole grain inclusion in school meal programs.

Recognizing that consensus definitions are needed to ensure that all global stakeholders (academics, industry, public and government agencies) are on the same page to achieve not only scientific compliance but also transparency for consumers, the WGI has developed and published a definition for whole grain ingredients and labelling criteria for whole grain foods. A sub-committee of the Food Policy group is working to secure adoption of this definition and these labelling guidelines by international regulatory bodies including ISO and CODEX.

Additionally, WGI hosts another sub-committee under the larger Food Policy umbrella which is aimed at developing a science-based whole grain intake recommendation. Large volumes of evidence link intake of whole-grain foods with improved health outcomes, particularly in relation to non-communicable diseases. Global recommendations for dietary intake of whole grains are complicated by evidence derived using varied determinations of whole-grain intake (eg use of foods, serves or servings rather than absolute grams) and also the culturally specific requirements for translation of evidence to the way populations consume whole grain – that is, as foods. This sub-committee seeks to synthesize the evidence and promote a specific recommendation based on the findings.
recent

Aim: accelerate on the Wholegrain Switch

• Short term:
• Leverage & promote upcoming ISO STANDARD at global level - expected date of publication : May 2026 (the earliest)
• Set up promotion/amplification plan - by Summer 2026
• Kick off Codex working group - after publication of ISO standard

• Monitor the EU Cardiovascular Health plan renamed “The Safe Hearts Plan” - released on the 16 december 2025 - link here
• With the help of DGA / Interel, follow up action plan at EU level and set up action plan from our group accordingly
• Reconnect with external stakeholders in the field of CV health to strenghen advocacy ( e.g EACH)

• Cross-fertilisation through EU organizations : multiply our impact & build coalitions
• Continue connections via phone calls with key EU association to amplify our message and our impact ( supported  by DGA Interel)

• Liaise with policy makers when opportunities arise e.g conferences, events at EU parliament ( TBC with DGA-Interel)
• In alignement with the communication working group, organize & coordinate the International Whole Grain Day event (November 2026) 
• Advocate for inclusion of WG in HSR - supporting GLNC actions in Australia
• Act at local level :  many of our policy asks require national-level action, with the help of the food policy members sitting in member states we will identify actions that can be led to amplify our impact
• Ambitious Long term - start in 2026 : Secure an INI report from the European Parliament

INI = “own initiative report” is a document created by a specific parliamentary committee on a topic within its expertise, often to highlight priorities, influence policy, or request action from the European Commission, acting as a key indicator of the Parliament's stance on important issues like budgets or fundamental rights, even without formal legislative power. 

• non-binding but powerful tool as the Commission must respond, and it often triggers follow-up action
• To achieve this, we need the right context (e.g. healthy diets related initiatives, as whole grain is too niche) and ideally the support of an intergroup or a large group of MEPs.
• Need to build a network of supporting MEPs ( 1 from each group)

Activities:

• Work closely with government regulatory bodies and politicians, as well as organizations like FAO and WHO to advance whole grain priorities
• Advocate for inclusion of whole grains in nutrient profiling systems/algorithms
• Develop repository of current scientific literature & position/consensus documents on the role of whole grains in healthy and sustainable diets
• Advocate for making whole grains the norm for children (creating a new “whole grain generation”) through policies that mandate the inclusion of whole grains in school meals.
• Output document:

Factsheet – Consumption of Whole Grains

Sub-Committees:

Sub-Committee on Defining and Labelling Whole Grain Ingredients and Foods

By end Q2

recent activities:

• Publication of a global whole-grain intake recommendation paper. Work completed, currently to be resubmitted. 
• Publication of a review on the health effects of refined grain intake. The aim of this paper is to consider the contrast in WG and RG given many dietary guidelines discuss concepts such as ‘mostly whole grains’ or ‘half your grains whole grain’. Also ready for submission.

By end Q4

• Key stakeholder interviews with regulators (and some industry) regarding the ways/methods that dietary recommendations are developed and implemented in their country/region. Ethics submitted, currently undertaking minor revisions. Data collection to commence Q2, 2026.
• Activities:
• Continue the work of securing ISO adoption of the WGI whole grain definition and its labelling criteria for whole grain foods
• Explore process of initiating CODEX adoption

Output documents:

Sub-Committee on Intake Recommendations

• Synthesis of the literature on whole grains and health outcomes using grams of whole-grain intake (reviews, meta-analyses)
• Develop and publish a recommendation for whole-grain intake
• Consider geographical and cultural variation to translate a scientific recommendation for whole grain intake into consumer messaging to improve health.