For more detailed information

• What is apparent consumption data?
• Impact of socio-economic factors on apparent consumption of bread.
• What is the 1995 National Nutrition Survey?
• Definitions of "average" and "median" intakes in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey.
• Foods included in the "Cereals and cereal products" food category of the 1995 National Nutrition Survey.
• Foods included in the "Legumes and pulse products and dishes" food category of the 1995 National Nutrition Survey.
• Factors influencing consumption of grains and pulses.

What is apparent consumption data?

Compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, apparent consumption data describes foods available for consumption in Australia after allowing for all other uses and losses, including exports and imports. It is a rough estimate of grain consumption and therefore useful for analysing trends in consumption patterns in Australia over time.

Grain products are represented by wheaten flour (includes flour used for bread-making), breakfast foods (including oatmeal and rolled oats), table rice (does not include rice used in processed foods) and bread.

Until the early 1990s production figures were collected as part of the Manufacturing Census. However, since that time the apparent consumption of bread has been based on the amount of flour used for bread-making after allowing for wastage.

Impact of socio-economic factors on apparent consumption of bread

Factors such as drought, floods or other environmental factors, as well as war and civil unrest impacts on the amount of food available for consumption. The following socio-economic factors have had an impact on bread consumption, and probably also other grain-based foods, over recent years.

Affluence

• The decline in bread consumption from the 1950s parallels a rise in the standard of living. A similar reduction in bread consumption was reported in Europe, USA and the UK.

Dietary trends

• Bread consumption declined in the 1970s when high protein, low carbohydrate diets were popular for weight reduction. Since the 1980s, dietary guidelines recommend eating more bread and cereals.

Food Availability

Factors having a negative impact on bread consumption:

• The huge increase in the number of competitor foods, especially in the snack food category, reduces the number of meal occasions which include bread. There is increasing interest in and consumption of pasta, rice and other cereals.
• The introduction of widespread mechanical bread slicing in the 1950s led to thinner slices and more slices per loaf.
• Improved shelf life and methods of storing bread (e.g. freezing) has led to less bread wastage.
  

Factors having a positive impact on bread consumption:

• Innovation in production of breads which offer "functional" nutritional benefits such as fibre-increased breads, breads with added nutrients such as iron and folate, soy and linseed breads containing higher levels of phytoestrogens.
• A trend back to smaller bread manufacturers, i.e. hot bread shops and "designer" bakers, producing a wider range of variety breads, including "traditional" breads and varieties common in other countries.

What is the 1995 National Nutrition Survey?

The 1995 National Nutrition Survey, conducted from February 1995 to March 1996, collected information about food intake on the day of the survey from 13 800 people, aged two years and over. The survey was conducted jointly by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Reported food intakes were converted to nutrient intake using food composition tables. The survey therefore indicates the contribution of grains and pulses to total nutrient intake in Australia.

Dietary surveys provide a direct measure of the amount of food actually eaten by individuals. They therefore provide the best indication of the amount and type of grains and pulses eaten by individuals from subgroups of the population. Because nutrition intake is measured from individuals, factors resulting in different grain and pulse consumption patterns between population groups can be determined. Although surveys generally underestimate dietary intake, they indicate factors which may contribute to health outcomes in specific population groups.

"Definitions of "average" and "median" intakes in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey

Consumption in the National Nutrition Survey is reported as the "average intake" and the "median intake":

• Average intake reflects intake of both consumers and non-consumers on the day of the survey.
• Median intake reflects the distribution of intakes of consumers only. The median reflects the mid-point in the spectrum of intakes. When there is a wide difference between those eating and those not eating, the median will be different to that of the average.

It is possible to work out actual intakes of those who report eating specific foods, as indicated with bread consumption below (Table 4).

• Flours and other cereal grains and starches (cornmeal, couscous, bulgar)
• Regular breads, rolls and bagels
• Fancy breads (focaccia, cheese-topped bread, fruit bread, tortillas), flat breads, English muffins and crumpets
• Plain breakfast cereals (single source), mixed breakfast cereals (mixed source) and hot porridge type breakfast cereals
• Rice and rice products (rice cake, flavoured rice)
• Pasta and pasta products (ravioli, wholemeal pasta, rice noodles).

• Mature legumes and pulses
• Dishes made from pulses, e.g. baked beans, pappadums, tofu, vegetarian sausages.

• Males eat more food than females across all ages.
• Males are more likely to eat breakfast cereals than females across all ages.

• Children aged 2-11 years eat the least cereal foods and pulses.
• People aged 16-24 years had the highest daily food intake of many food groups.
• Persons aged 65 years and over were most likely to eat hot porridge.
• Pasta was more popular in the younger age groups (up until 18 years of age).
• More rice was eaten by older age groups (from 19 years of age).
• Children, 8-11 years, and adults, 65+ years ate the least pulse products and dishes.

• Adults living in rural and remote areas and rural centres ate on average more bread, but less pasta and rice than adults living in metropolitan areas and capital cities.
• People living in metropolitan areas and capital cities were more likely to eat legumes and pulse products and dishes than those living in rural and remote areas.
• People living in ACT had the highest average intake of the cereals and cereal foods (260.6 g) whereas those living in Queensland ate the least (190.5 g).
• People in WA and ACT were more likely to eat pulse products and dishes and had the highest average intakes, whereas those living in Tasmania were least likely to eat legumes.

• People born in East Asia ate the highest amount of cereal foods (529 g), mainly from rice (367.1 g) on the day of the survey (compared to 196.5 g by those born in Australia).
• They also had the highest average intake of pulse products and dishes -20% reported eating these foods on the day of the survey compared to 6.5% of those born in Australia.

Socio-economic status

• People in the most disadvantaged areas had the lowest intake of cereal foods (195.5 g).
• Those in the most advantaged groups had the highest intakes of cereal foods (232.3 g).

• More breakfast cereals, pasta and rice were eaten during the week than on the weekend, except for adults aged 65+ years.
• Consumption of fancy breads, flat breads, English muffins and crumpets increased over the weekend.
• People aged 25 to 64 years reported eating more pulse products and dishes during the weekend than during the week.

• More cereal and cereal foods were eaten in winter (232.5 g), especially from porridge, than in summer (204.6 g).