From time to time journalists ask me where I see the Whole Grain Stamp five years from now. My answer is always, “I hope the Stamp is out of business. Retired and resting on a beach in Florida.”

Now, it’s not that I want to do myself out of a job. And it’s not that I don’t believe in the Whole Grain Stamp with every ounce (gram!) of my being. But the fact is, Oldways and the Whole Grains Council created the Whole Grain Stamp in 2005 because it was really, really hard then, to find the few whole grain products that existed in a sea of refined / enriched grains. Now, as whole grains become the norm in more and more cases, I can see, on the distant horizon, a day when it’s no longer necessary to flag whole grain products the same way.  (“Look! Right here! Wow! A real whole grain food!”)

Whether it happens in 2015 or some other year, there will come a time when people will shrug and say, “Well, yeah. Of course it’s made with whole grain. It’s a grain product. Duh.” Like, what else would you use to make breads, crackers, cookies, cakes, waffles, and other foods like them? And why would you want to choose between good-tasting and good-for-you when you could have both?

That day came just a bit closer today as Kraft Foods, one of the world’s 5 largest food companies, announced that it will be hugely increasing the whole grains in its Nabisco cracker portfolio over the next three years.

In reformulating over 100 products, Kraft will double, triple, or even quadruple the whole grains in some of its most popular cracker lines, a move that will bring many brands to the 100%-whole-grain level. These three, for instance, will join Triscuits (already 100% whole grain) at the top of the heap:

100%: Original Wheat Thins (was 5g until August 2009) from 11g to 22g whole grain per serving
100%: Wheat Thins Toasted Crisps from 5g to 17g per serving
100%: Honey Maid Original Graham Crackers from 5g to 20g per serving

Some crackers – like Ritz and Premium (Saltines) – will be partially rather than 100% whole grain – still a great step forward, in our eyes. When all is said and done in 2013, Kraft expects that overall this move will double the amount of whole grain its customers get from Nabisco crackers.

Five years ago, companies too often dismissed the need for healthier products with the excuse that consumers wouldn’t buy them. And in fact we wouldn’t, when they tasted gnarly. Now, however, better companies have decided to strut their stuff, by investing the time and money to really reformulate properly. It’s as if they’re saying, “We’re a top company, with a really good R&D department and we won’t accept gnarly. We’re going to show our competition we can do healthy-and-delicious, even if they can’t.”

In the whole grains realm, General Mills set a good example back in 2005 when it reformulated its entire Big G cereal line to include at least 8g of whole grains (and often more) per serving, and, as we reported a few weeks ago, both McDonald’s and Burger King now use buns made with whole grain on their chicken sandwiches.

We’re delighted to see companies involved in a race to the top. As more companies make whole grain the norm, you can read about them here, in the Whole Grains Council blog. (Cindy)