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Although sweet foods are often not considered to be suitable for whole grain claims, many sweet foods such as buns and muesli/granola bars include whole grain ingredients, and determining intake from these sources is important for understanding how much they contribute to overall whole grain intake, and how this may impact on health. Generally, few pastries and cakes contain whole grain flour due to the difficulties in making pastry or batter with the desired properties.

Sweet products such as some types of biscuits/cookies or muesli/granola bars may contain a significant amount of whole grain per serving. In general, though, high levels of fat, sugar and inclusions like nuts and dried fruit mean that foods in this category contain relatively low amounts of whole grain as a percentage of weight as consumed (Table 5.1).

One of the most commonly consumed whole grains among “non‐whole grain” consumers is corn/maize in the form of popcorn. While not always recognized as a whole grain food, popcorn is a dried intact kernel of corn, and while the starch in the kernel expands and pops with heat, all the components of the grain are still generally attached. Some studies have found that popcorn intake is associated with reduced disease risk,^(20,21) suggesting that popcorn deserves more attention as a healthy whole grain food. Other savory snack foods may also contain a relatively high amount of whole grains. This includes crisp‐type products (called snack chips in the United States) made from cereal flours and crackers. However, recommended serving sizes for whole grain snack foods are often limited, so as a category, should be considered fairly limited as a sole source of whole grains in a diet. However, it is positive that there are a wide range of whole grain snacks available as an alternative to those based on refined carbohydrate sources.