There are mainly two difference between raw and toasted wheat germ.
Fat content in the raw wheat germ is high. Around 100 gms of Raw Wheat Germ has about 10.7 gms of fat which includes saturated, mono-saturated and poly-saturated fatty acids. It also includes essential fatty acids like omega-6 and omega-9. Due to the presence of essential fatty acid and other types of fat Wheat Germ cannot survive outside the protection of wheat coat for a long time.
In order to increase the shelf life of Wheat Germ it is toasted. Some commercial wheat germ are completely defatted in order to increase its shelf life for one year. But in the process of completely defatting the wheat germ, Vitamin E is also completely lost. This is so because, Vitamin E is a fat soluble Vitamin. So if toasted Wheat Germ has zero fat, it also means zero Vitamin E. 100 gms Wheat Germ contains 15.99 mg of Vitamin E.
Harmony Wheat Germ is a slightly toasted wheat germ. Only 10 percent of the fat is removed from the Wheat Germ which increases its shelf life up to 3 months. Thus retains Vitamin E and all the essential fatty acid with minimal loss.
But people still prefer to eat toasted wheat germ due to its nutty flavor. But apart from the flavor, doctors also advices to eat toasted Wheat Germ, as little bit of toasting makes the protein easily digestible by the body than compared to raw Wheat Germ.
Raw Wheat Germ is sometimes also refered as crude wheat germ and toasted wheat germ is also known as roasted wheat germ.
