Meal Pattern Minute: Enriched Grains as First Ingredient
June 27, 2025
Grains are a meal component of the Child and Adult Care Food Program meal pattern, offering important nutrients such as fiber, iron, and B vitamins that support healthy growth and development. The program includes both whole grain-rich and enriched grain products, provided they meet specific crediting criteria. However, determining whether a grain item is creditable can be challenging, especially when interpreting ingredient labels. For instance, if a product lists “enriched wheat flour” as the first ingredient, does that automatically make it CACFP creditable?
Tune in to this Meal Pattern Minute as Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, provides the answer to this question. Read the answer below or listen to the video by clicking the Meal Pattern Minute video.
The answer is yes! If the enriched grain is listed first or second after water, it is considered a creditable grain in the CACFP. Examples of enriched grain products are enriched white rice, enriched white bread, and enriched grits.
Need more tips and guidance on crediting grains? Review the resources below.
- Grain Requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; Questions and Answers Memo Code: 05-2025
- Enriched grains are refined grains that have been processed to remove the nutrient-rich bran and germ, and then have thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, and iron added after processing. Foods made from refined grains that meet at least one of the following are considered creditable:
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- The food is labeled as “enriched.” For example, long grain rice that is enriched will have the product name “enriched long grain rice.”
- An enriched grain is listed as the first ingredient on the food’s ingredient list or second after water. The ingredient list will usually say “enriched flour” or “enriched wheat flour,” or there is a sub-listing of nutrients used to enrich the flour, for example, “yellow corn flour {iron, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine}.”
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- The USDA Crediting Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs Tips Sheet- Part 1: Creditable Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs not only contains definitions used to identify creditable grains, but also has two pages of common grain ingredients to help CACFP providers look for creditable grains to use in meals.
Add one of these recipes to your menu using creditable grains in the CACFP:
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