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From 2025, potatoes could be included in the cereals and rice category, for a number of reasons that support the change.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services, is developing its dietary guidelines for 2025.
The dietary guidelines classify foods into five categories – dairy, fruit, grains, protein and vegetables – but the increasing prevalence of different diets or the proliferation of ‘food patterns’ means that all of these groups may evolve and change over time.
In this regard, the potato issue divides opinions in a debate with the National Potato Council and The Grain Chain opposing the classification of potatoes into two categories.
While the NPC is sensitive to individual needs and cultures, we urge the Committee to recognise that a potato is not a cereal,’ they said. Potatoes are the most widely produced vegetable in the U.S. Starchy vegetables and cereals are two very different food groups that play very different roles in providing nutrients to the diet. Unlike cereals, white potatoes are high in potassium, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and fibre. Research shows that diets high in vegetables, including potatoes, promote overall healthy outcomes’.
Beyond that, they pointed out that despite supporting vegetable consumption, they did not believe that recategorising potatoes was the solution, and that such a change could confuse consumers. In any case, we will have to wait until 2025 for the debate to be resolved and a conclusion to be reached by the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
