In June, the FDA released a long-awaited document outlining which ingredients are acceptable for fiber claims. An initial FDA ruling in 2016 identified only naturally occurring dietary fibers and isolated or synthetic fibers that were determined to have beneficial health effects to be labelled as Dietary Fiber on food labels. This group included beta-glucan, psyllium husk, and cellulose among others, but was missing some widely-used ingredients.

After a large-scale review, the FDA recently released eight new fibers approved for labelling as Dietary Fiber on food labels. These include mixed plant cell wall fibers, arabinoxylan, alginate, inulin, high amylose starch, galactooligosaccharide, polydextrose, and resistant dextrins.

The FDA has stated that additional fibers will be accepted if scientific evidence demonstrates they are physiologically beneficial, and petitions will be accepted on an ongoing basis to evaluate ingredients for fiber claims.

“With the new FDA regulations, it is crucially important that petitioners have solid scientific studies clearly demonstrating the recognized physiological health benefits of their ingredients. We have been pleased to help our clients with designing and conducting research that will meet the FDA’s guidelines for Dietary Fiber labeling,”

Dr. Alexandra Jenkins, Director of Research.