AACC Approves New Dietary Fiber Definition 37553

AACC Approves New Dietary Fiber Definition

ST. PAUL, Minn.--The American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) on June 1 approveda new definition of dietary fiber. It is the first revision of the definition in more than25 years, when it was developed by researcher H. Trowell and his associates.

AACC instituted an ad hoc committee in late 1998, and after a consensus was reached,its board of directors approved the final definition. As approved, it reads: Dietaryfiber is the edible parts of plants of analogous carbohydrates that are resistant todigestion and absorption in the human small intestine with complete or partialfermentation in the large intestine. Dietary fiber includes polysaccharides,oligosaccharides, lignin, and associated plant substances. Dietary fibers promotebeneficial physiological effects including laxation, and/or blood cholesterol attenuation,and/or blood glucose attenuation."