ARCHIVED - Table 1. Characteristics of various dietary fibre definitions

Table 1 compares the characteristics of dietary fibre definitions from some other jurisdictions with the current Canadian definition.

Table 1. Characteristics of various dietary fibre definitions
Jurisdictions Health Canada US IOM, 2005 Codex, 2009 ANZFA, 2000 (now FSANZ) FAO, 2007
Sub classification Dietary fibre (1985) Novel fibre (1988) Dietary fibre Functional fibre Total fibre 1st category 2nd category 3rd category 1st category 2nd category 3rd category Dietary fibre
Terminology Endogenous NSP Chemically and physically modified, concentrated fibre, finely ground fibre Intrinsic / intact ND CHOs Isolated, manufactured, synthesized ND CHOs Sum of dietary and functional fibre Edible CHO polymers in foods as consumed CHO polymers obtained from food raw materials and processed (chem/phys/ or enzym) Synthetic CHO polymers Fractions of edible parts of plants (but not excluding microbiological, fungal or animal sources) Plants extracts (but not excluding microbiological, fungal or animal sources) Analogous CHO Intrinsic plant cell wall polysaccharides
Resistant to human enzymes Yes Implied Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Intact and naturally occurring in food Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes
Animal derived ND CHO No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Synthetic ND CHO No No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes No
ND mono and disaccharides No No No No No No No No No No No No
ND oligosaccharides No No Yes Yes Yes Decision left to national authorities Decision left to national authorities Decision left to national authorities Yes Yes Yes No
Resistant starch No No Yes (RS1, RS2, RS3) Yes (RS4) Yes Yes (RS1, RS2, RS3) Yes (RS4) No Yes (RS1, RS2, RS3) Yes (RS2, high amylose) Yes (RS4) No
Lignin as part of the plant matrix Yes Implied Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Demonstration of health benefits No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
List of health effects No Yes No No No No No No No Yes Yes No

ND: nondigestible;
CHO: carbohydrates;
NSP: non-starch polysaccharides.

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