Enriched flour is flour with specific nutrients returned to it that have been lost while it was prepared. These restored nutrients include iron and B vitamins (folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine). Calcium may also be supplemented. The purpose of enriching flour is to replenish the nutrients in the flour to match the nutritional status of the unrefined product. This differentiates enrichment from fortification, which is the process of introducing new nutrients to a food.
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White flour became adopted in many cultures because it was recognized as being healthier than dark flours during the late Middle Ages. The unknown factor for its benefit at that time was that mold and fungus in the grains, which led to several diseases, were eliminated in the processing that resulted in white flour.
In the 1920s, Benjamin R. Jacobs began to document the loss of essential nutrients, however, through this processing of cereals and grains and to demonstrate a method by which the end products could be enriched with the lost nutrients. These nutrients promote good health and help to prevent some diseases. It is because of these benefits that enriched flour is so prevalent today, despite there being no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations requiring their use.
The international effort to start enriching flour was launched during the 1940s as a means to improve the health of the wartime populations of the British and United States while food was being rationed and alternative sources of the nutrients were scarce. The decision to choose flour for enrichment was based on its commonality in the diets of those wartime populations, ranging from the rich to the poor. A major factor in the switch to enriched flour in the United States was the U.S. Army's restriction in 1942, that it would purchase only enriched flour.
The conversion of grains to flour involves several steps that vary with the type of grain used. The initial stages of processing remove the bran and the germ of the seed. The bran is the outermost layer of grains that contains fibre (primarily insoluble), some protein, and trace minerals. The germ is the embryo of the seed that contains B vitamins and trace minerals. Because the germ has a fat content of 10%, it may reduce shelf-life. Thus, it is separated to ensure high quality of the flour. In contrast to enriched flour, whole wheat flour contains both the bran and the germ. The remaining and largest portion of the seed is the endosperm. It acts as a nutrient reservoir for the developing embryo. The endosperm contains a large amount of carbohydrates, protein, iron, B vitamins (niacin and riboflavin), and soluble fibre.
Once the endosperm is isolated, it is ground into a fine powder and sifted to remove and remaining fragments of bran or germ. The final flour product contains a smaller portion of the original nutrients that were present in the seed prior to processing. Enrichment ensures that these important nutrients are restored to improve the quality of the flour.
According to the FDA, a pound of enriched flour must have the following quantities of nutrients to qualify: 2.9 milligrams of thiamin, 1.8 milligrams of riboflavin, 24 milligrams of niacin, 0.7 milligrams of folic acid, and 20 milligrams of iron. The first four nutrients are B vitamins. Calcium also may be added at a minimum of 960 milligrams per pound.
Enriching is necessary because the processing used to make white flour destroys some of these nutrients that originally were present in the whole grain.
There has been a lot of controversy regarding the benefits of enriched flour in relation to those of whole wheat flour. Although enriched flour does contain the similar amounts of vitamins as the unrefined flour products, it does not have the same nutritional benefits of whole wheat flour. One of the most significant differences is the amount of fibre. During the production of white enriched flour, a lot of the fibre-containing components (the bran and germ) are reduced or removed. Thus, products made from this type of flour contain smaller amounts of fibre than those made with whole wheat flour. Another concern is the effect on blood sugar levels. There is also a significant difference in the type of iron added to enriched flour, a type that may be toxic rather than nutritional. Enriched flour products tend to be higher on the Glycemic Index, quickly raising blood sugar levels. In contrast, foods made from whole grains tend to be lower on the Glycemic Index. Because they contain higher amounts of fibre and other complex carbohydrates, they take longer to digest; therefore, sugars enter the bloodstream in a slow and more controlled manner. A diet containing primarily low Glycemic Index foods has been related to many health benefits: reduced cholesterol levels, reduced risk of heart disease, and healthy weight loss. Although consumption of whole wheat products is highly recommended, a diet combining both whole wheat and smaller amounts of enriched flour products may not be harmful.
1. http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/library/research/popups/pdf/wheat-to-bread.pdf
2. http://www.wheatflourbook.org/Main.aspx?p=23
3. http://www.graininformationservice.co.uk/content/1/58/vitamins-and-minerals.html
4. http://www.muehlenchemie.de/downloads-future-of-flour/FoF_Kap_17-2.pdf