Based on the recommendation for endorsement of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) in November 2008, a definition for dietary fiber was adopted in June 2009 by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), as follows:
“Dietary fiber consists of carbohydrate polymers (a) with ten or more monomeric units (b), which are not hydrolysed by the endogenous enzymes in the small intestine of humans and belong to the following categories: edible carbohydrate polymers naturally occurring in the food as consumed; carbohydrate polymers which have been obtained from food raw material by physical, enzymatic or chemical means and which have been shown to have a physiological effect of benefit to health as demonstrated by generally accepted scientific evidence to competent authorities, and synthetic carbohydrate polymers which have been shown to have a physiological effect of benefit to health as demonstrated by generally accepted scientific evidence to competent authorities.
a) When derived from a plant origin, dietary fiber may include fractions of lignin and/or other compounds when associated with polysaccharides in the plant cell walls and if these compounds are quantified by the AOAC gravimetric analytical method for dietary fiber analysis: Fractions of lignin and the other compounds (proteic fractions, phenolic compounds, waxes, saponins, phytates, cutin, phytosterols, etc.) intimately “associated” with plant polysaccharides (are often extracted with the polysaccharides) in the AOAC 991.43 method.
b) Decision on whether to include carbohydrates of 3 to 9 monomeric units should be left up to national authorities.”
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