FOS Falls Under NAS Definition of 'Functional Fiber'

FOS Falls Under NAS Definition of 'Functional Fiber'

GOLDEN, Colo.--GTC Nutrition LLC announced Sept. 10 that itsNutraFlora fructooligosaccharides (FOS) product now falls under the definitionof functional fiber that was recently published by the National Academies ofScience (NAS) as part of its report on Dietary Reference Intakes. The new fiberdefinition reads: "Functional fiber consists of isolated, non-digestiblecarbohydrates that have beneficial physiological effects in humans." NASalso recommended a daily intake of 38 g/d of fiber for men and 25 g/d for women.

"This new recognition of FOS as a fiber represents progress in anoverall understanding in the science community of fructooligosaccharides andtheir many health benefits," said Linda Chamberlain Douglas, Ph.D., R.D.,manager of scientific affairs for GTC Nutrition. "Although experts havealways known that FOS acts as a prebiotic soluble fiber, the analytical methodsused by the USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] and FDA [Food and DrugAdministration] historically have not detected dietary fiber in FOS. NAS nowrecognizes the physiological effects of FOS as a fiber in addition to the fibersidentified by laboratory analysis methods used in the past."

For more information, visit American Ingredients (the distributor ofNutraFlora) at www.amer-ing.com or Booth#1508 at SupplySide West.