The Danish Wholegrain Society makes a push to include the Food Service Sector in national food labeling
For more than 15 years, the Danish Whole Grain Partnership has guided Danish consumers to eat more food products with wholegrain. Now, the partnership is broadening its sphere of activities by including the Danish Food Service Sector and all its canteens.
In 2008, the Danish Whole Grain Partnership was established. It is a public-private partnership between the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, the Danish Cancer Society, the Danish Heart Foundation, and the Danish Diabetes Association, as well as several food companies – including Lantmännen Unibake, Lantmännen Schulstad, and Lantmännen Cerealia – retail chains, and industry associations. Together, the partnership works to improve public health by encouraging Danes to eat more wholegrain.
The Danish Whole Grain Partnership’s strategy is two-sided. They promote products with the orange wholegrain logo that have a high content of wholegrains and a low content of fat, sugar, and salt. And they motivate food producers to add a little bit of wholegrain to a wide range of products without the logo.
“Overall, the Danish Whole Grain Partnership has been a massive success,” says Stine Frank Kristensen, Product Manager at Lantmännen Unibake. She explains that the intake of wholegrain in the Danish population has increased from an average of 36g in 2007 to 82g a day in 2019 and that the availability of wholegrain products and knowledge of the health benefits of wholegrain has increased. 69% of all Danes say that they know the wholegrain logo, and of those, 80% say they actively look for the logo when they buy food products, according to a recent Megafon survey.
(Credit Fuldkornspartnerskabet)
Include the Food Service Sector
In 2024, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration changed its food-based dietary guidelines. Before, adults were recommended to eat a minimum of 75g of wholegrain daily. That has changed to 90g per day – and preferably more.
“Wholegrains are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other substances important to our health. We mustn’t slow down but keep pushing for more initiatives promoting all the benefits of a diet rich in wholegrains,” says Stine Frank Kristensen.
The next step for the Danish Whole Grain Partnership is to target not only end-consumers but also include the Food Service Sector. Danes – like people in many other countries – eat a lot of meals away from home. The Danish Whole Grain Partnership has made a special arrangement for the Food Service Sector to include canteens.
“So, if a company can meet certain criteria, they can show customers, employees, etc., that they can choose a product with lots of wholegrain. Hopefully, that can attract a lot of wholegrain ambassadors in the Food Service Sector,” says Stine Frank Kristensen.
The Danish Whole Grain Partnership was appointed a Best Practice example by the EU in 2019 and by the OECD in 2022.
Based on the success of the Danish Whole Grain Partnership, a similar initiative is being established in Sweden to promote the use of more wholegrain in food products.
Read more about the Danish Whole Grain Partnership.
See video about the wholegrain arrangement for canteens.
