Want advanced access to my weekly Chewsday Reviews?

Every Tuesday morning receive the latest Chewsday Review delivered directly to your inbox.

Woolworths Soft Wholegrain Wraps | Chewsday Review

All of these years of Chewsday Reviews and I’ve never reviewed a wrap?! Well… You’ll be rapt to know that I’ve wrapped up that chapter in wrap-less history. Check out this week’s review to see if Woolworths Soft Wholegrain Wraps get a good rap.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour (30%) (Thiamin, Fotate), Water, Wholemeal Wheat Flour (15%) (Wheat Gluten, Thiamin, Folic Acid), Grain Mix (15%) (Wholemeal Wheat Flour (5%), Wholegrain Rye Flour (3%), Wheat Flour, Rice Flour, Semolina, Barley Flour, Linseed, Soya Flour, Oat Fibre, Flax Seeds, Thiamin, Fotate), Palm Oil (Antioxidant (307b)), Wheat Fibre, Wheat Gluten, Sugar, Iodised Salt, Vegetable Gum (412), Emulsifier (471), Mineral Salt (450), Acidity Regulator (297), Preservatives (282, 200), Antioxidant (300).
It’s quite a long ingredient list, but this is mostly thanks to containing such a range of different grains and seeds. These contain wheat flour, rye flour, rice flour, semolina, barley barley, linseed, soy flour, oat fibre and flax seeds.
Allergens: wheat (gluten), other gluten-containing cereals (barley and rye), soy

Positives

Wraps are notoriously salty, but these Woolworths wraps are within recommendations (less than 400mg per 100g), with 351mg per 100g. This comes to 158mg of sodium for each wrap. Coles homebrand wraps contain a similar amount of salt (370mg per 100g). Other big brands like Mission wraps can be as high as 900mg per 100g (or 639mg per wrap!). This is a big difference, particularly knowing that Australians eat too much salt.
Each wrap contains 3.1g of fibre (thanks to all of those grains and seeds!). This works out to be 6.8g per 100g, which is more than the Coles Wholegrain Wraps (4.5g per 100g) but a little less than Simpson’s Pantry Mixed Wholegrain Wraps (6.2g per 100g).
Total fat and saturated fat are within recommendations, despite these containing palm oil. It might surprise you that big brands like Mission and Simpson’s Pantry wraps are above recommendations for saturated fat (>3g per 100g).
These are one of the more cost effective wrap options. A packet of 8 costs $2.50 ($6.90 per kg), whereas you’ll pay double for a pack of Mission or Simpson’s Pantry wraps.

Negatives

These contain palm oil, which as well as being high in saturated fat, contributes to deforestation. Palm oil can be sustainably sourced, but usually if it’s not stated as certified sustainable palm oil, it isn’t. I don’t see any sign that the palm oil in these wraps is sustainably sourced.
Only available at Woolworths, so you won’t find these if you shop at Coles or independent retailers.

Marketing

“4 star health rating”. This tells us it compares fairly well to other wraps. You might not notice, but it seems some big brands have left off their health star rating (likely due to their high salt and saturated fat content).
“10g of wholegrains per serve”. This is coming from a range of grains, and contributes towards recommendations to each 48g of whole grains each day, to reduce risks of developing heart disease. For children this target has been extrapolated to 24g for toddlers and 32-48g for school-aged children.
“Made with Australian wheat flour”. This is great, but given Australia has a large wheat industry, I’d be a little concerned if they were using imported wheat flour.
“Vegetarian”. Surely this is a given?

Alternatives

I like that these are higher in fibre and lower in salt than many other wraps. You can only find them at Woolworths, but actually Coles have a fairly similar product.
I’m always cautious about giving wraps to young babies regularly, as their kidneys can only handle about 200mg of sodium from food per day, and wraps contribute a lot to this.
All of my memberships include a comprehensive guide to choosing wraps and flatbreads (along with many other supermarket products), so if you’re still feeling confused choosing a wrap, you can join us for more support.