Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Potatoes are the base for some of the most popular foods around the world, including french fries, potato chips and hash browns. They are considered a vegetable, but could that change to becoming a grain?
The answer should be decided soon, as the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee prepares its dietary guidelines for 2025 and could revise the American food staple's designation.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the committee has heard testimony from more than 100 food and health professionals to provide input for the guidelines.
This included representatives from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Coalition for Healthy School Food, National Dairy Council, National Food and Beverage Alliance and National Pasta Association.
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At the September meeting, Kam Quarles, CEO for the National Potato Council, provided oral testimony and urged the committee to determine a potato is not a grain.
"Starchy vegetables and grains are two vastly different food groups that play distinctly different roles in contributing nutrients to the diet," Quarles told the committee.
"Unlike grains, white potatoes are a strong contributor of potassium, calcium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6 and fiber. Research shows that diets high in vegetable consumption, including potatoes, promote healthy outcomes overall."
Quarles said potatoes serve as a "springboard vegetable" that introduce children to other types of less-consumed vegetables, increases participation and decreases food waste.
According to the USDA, potatoes, followed by tomatoes, are the most consumed vegetables in America.
Agriculture officials say the average American consumes about 50 pounds of potatoes each year. Prices for potatoes have risen in the United States as production dipped for the last four years and consumer demand jumped.
The Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture announced in December that a fourth meeting of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will be open to the public virtually on Jan. 19, starting at 8:30 a.m. EST.
