01/02/06 FDA okays barley`s health claim

Farm and Ranch January 2, 2006 Just before Christmas the Food and Drug Administration published an interim rule that will allow barley food products to claim they reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The National Barley Foods Council had petitioned for the health claim and its executive administrator Mary Sullivan, who is also the administrator of the Washington Barley Commission, says the Council and food manufacturers will be able to promote that claim. Sullivan: "We are really excited about the opportunities for manufacturers to develop products for the marketplace which they wouldn't have otherwise brought to the marketplace had we not had this claim. So we are hoping that consumers will be able to see new products available that won't be just limited to breakfast cereals but could also be snack bars, pilafs, soup mixes, casseroles. All types of products so it is not just limited like oat bran to possibly just breakfast or bakery type goods. It will be breakfast, lunch and dinner and possibly even snack foods." And what might this mean for barley producers? Sullivan: "We have estimated that at this point in time about 2% of our production is used for food. We are hoping that growers will be able to capture a higher premium or a value added price for the types of barley that are going to be used in food products as a result of this claim." But that is dependent upon what the food manufacturers do. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.