The daily value for dietary fiber as it will appear in nutrition facts labels under the new directive was increased from 25 grams per day to 28 grams per day, which reflects a 12% increase.
Published in the Federal Register (Volume 81, No. 103) on May 27, the directive becomes effective approximately two years from now, on July 26, 2018. Its purpose is to help ensure that nutrition facts labels provide information on the healthfulness of foods and allow consumers to make informed choices on the foods they purchase and eat, MGP said.
In the definition of dietary fiber, resistant starch is included under isolated non-digestible carbohydrates. While an isolated or synthetic fiber is only required to show one beneficial physiological effect in humans, Fibersym RW demonstrates several.
“Results of several university clinical studies confirm the many benefits of Fibersym RW and identify the ingredient as an outstanding dietary fiber source,” said Ody Maningat, vice-president of research and development and chief science officer at MGP. “These benefits include improved laxation, reduced levels of blood glucose/insulin, decreased blood cholesterol and improved gut health.”
According to Maningat, the FDA relies on established AOAC dietary fiber methods or other equivalent AOAC fiber methods to determine the dietary fiber content of foods.
"Following approvals of Fibersym RW by regulatory agencies in the United States, these clinical studies were instrumental in obtaining widespread international approval of Fibersym RW in Canada, Mexico and the European Union,” he said.
Mike Buttshaw, vice-president of ingredients sales and marketing said, “We are pleased that the new FDA issuance includes resistant starch in the fiber definition and recognizes its potential to provide physiological benefits. Our Fibersym RW is widely used in the U.S. and worldwide by food scientists and formulators to boost the total dietary fiber content of food products. It is one of the most studied, tested and proven forms of resistant starches in the market today.”
As with MGP’s other specialty wheat starches, Fibersym RW is non-GMO project verified. It also offers a clean flavor profile while delivering a minimum total dietary fiber content of 85%. Likewise, with its bright white color, fine smooth texture and neutral flavor profile, Fibersym RW blends well with other ingredients to produce tasty, nutritionally enriched bakery goods, pastas and many other flour-based products in which it provides a convenient one-to-one partial flour replacement, MGP said.
Maningat also noted that MGP’s production facility meets international food safety guidelines such as the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and received a Grade AA in its most recent British Retail Consortium (BRC) audit.
