Food and Nutrition Facts for the Press

Here's the skinny on one of America's favorite foods.

• Enriched pasta is a good source of folic acid, a key nutrient for women who may become pregnant. Folic acid helps to prevent some birth defects (i.e. neural tube) that occur in the early stages of pregnancy. Read more about the importance of folic acid here.
  
• In addition to folic acid, a typical two-ounce serving of non-egg dry pasta contains valuable levels of iron and the B-vitamins riboflavin, thiamine, and niacin. The same two-ounce serving contains only one gram of fat, no sodium or cholesterol, and roughly 200 calories.
  
• Some pasta may contain natural flavorings to produce colored pasta. Tomato and spinach powder are often added to create red and green pastas, respectively.
  
• High-quality durum wheat is the main ingredient in U.S.-produced pasta. It is from durum wheat, the hardest wheat known to man, that pasta receives its yellow amber color, pleasant nutty flavor and the ability to retain both shape and firmness when cooked.
  
• "Durum semolina" appears on most pasta labels. Semolina is the coarsely ground endosperm of durum wheat that's golden in color and very coarse and granular in texture. When mixed with water, a variety of macaroni products are produced. Some pasta labels may also refer to "durum flour" which is a finer granulation of durum produced in the milling process and is primarily used in noodle products.
  
• The term "enriched" on a pasta label refers to the additional nutrients, considered essential to a balanced diet, which have been added. Pasta is enriched with iron, folate and several other B-vitamins, including thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.
  
• Pasta is a low-fat, high-carbohydrate food. Current dietary guidance calls for up to 65% of daily calories to come from carbohydrates.
  
• There are Standards of Identity for various pasta products developed by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as follows:
• Lycopene, a naturally abundant antioxidant found in tomatoes is another benefit to eating pasta topped with the traditional sauce. Recent research suggests that lycopene helps inhibit certain cancers, including prostate and cervical cancer.
  
• In the United States, pasta meals are frequently matched with a tomato-based sauce. Eating pasta with tomato products, which are naturally rich in the antioxidant lycopene, may help reduce the risk of certain cancers, according to experts.