WASHINGTON  — Attacks against the healthfulness of bread and other grain-based food are going unanswered, to the detriment of the baking industry, said Chad Donvito, chief marketing officer, King’s Hawaiian Holding Co., Inc., Torrance, Calif.

Mr. Donvito expressed his concerns in the third installment of a series of YouTube videos produced by the Grain Foods Foundation about the need for a breadbasket checkoff program.

“What consumers are hearing right now are voices actually pulling people away from the bread category,” he said. “So I think without a voice to combat that, we’re at a little bit of a loss.”

When naysayers encourage consumers to avoid grains, it is incumbent on bakers to share the pluses of baked foods, Mr. Donvito said.

“We need to be able to express to them the great benefits, the great taste, this great product we have with sliced bread and grains,” he said. “I think it’s just a matter of us sharing that perspective. Consumers are still going to hear perspectives from both sides, but at least they aren’t just hearing from one side.”

The GFF videos are part of a panel discussion moderated by Joshua Sosland, editor of Milling & Baking News and president of Sosland Publishing Co.

Other committee members participating in the panel discussion (conducted in two sessions) were Vince Melchiorre (Bimbo Bakeries USA), Debo Mukherjee (Flowers Foods, Inc.), Brian Dwyer (The Kroger Co.), Dan Dye (Ardent Mills), Pete Frederick (steering committee co-chair; Grain Craft) and Tony Martin (Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe). Mr. Donvito’s comments may be accessed by clicking here.