How should products with added dietary fiber be labeled?

In recent years, with the gradual increase in health awareness, dietary fiber has been more and more widely used as a food ingredient, and more and more consumers will pay attention to the content of dietary fiber in the food they consume. So, how should the relevant products with added dietary fiber be labeled, whether they can be fortified, and how can consumers read them?
What is Dietary Fiber?
On December 29, 2021, the Nutrition and Health Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the Expert Consensus on Dietary Fiber at the 2021 China Nutrition and Health Industry Leadership Summit.

On the basis of China’s GB/Z21922-2008 Basic Terminology for Nutritional Composition of Food and in the context of domestic and international advances, the definition of dietary fiber was updated to:
A polymer of carbohydrates naturally occurring in plants, extracted from plants or directly synthesized with a degree of polymerization ≥ 3, edible, not digested and absorbed by the human small intestine, and of health significance to the human body.
Dietary fiber is further divided into soluble dietary fiber and insoluble dietary fiber.
Soluble dietary fiber is the part of dietary fiber that can be dissolved in water, including oligosaccharides and partially indigestible polysaccharides.
Insoluble dietary fiber refers to the part of dietary fiber that cannot be dissolved in water, including lignin, cellulose, part of hemicellulose and so on.
What are the common insoluble dietary fibers?
Common insoluble dietary fibers are cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
Insoluble dietary fibers are hard in texture and include cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, of which cellulose and hemicellulose are mainly found in bran, and lignin is mainly found in the lignified portions and seeds of vegetables, such as strawberry seeds, aged carrots, and flowering stem kale.
Dietary fiber is an important part of a healthy diet, and moderate consumption of dietary fiber can be effective in preventing the onset and development of many chronic diseases.
Cellulose Cellulose is a macromolecular polysaccharide composed of glucose, insoluble in water and general organic solvents, is the main component of plant cell walls.
Cellulose is the most widely distributed in nature, the largest content of a polysaccharide, accounting for more than 50% of the carbon content of the plant world. The cellulose content of cotton is close to 100%, the purest source of cellulose in nature. In general wood, cellulose accounts for 40% to 50%, and 10% to 30% of hemicellulose and 20% to 30% of lignin.
Hemicellulose Hemicellulose is a polysaccharide linked by monosaccharides and is an important part of the plant cell wall. Hemicellulose differs from cellulose in that the glycans of hemicellulose also contain a small number of chemical bonds, such as ester and ether bonds.
Hemicellulose is the plant cell wall constitutes cellulose small fibers between the interstitial gel in the polysaccharide group in addition to the removal of pectin other than the material, is the main component of the primary wall, often used as a thickener and emulsifier.
Lignin lignin is a complex phenolic polymer formed by three alcohol monomers (p-coumaryl alcohol, pinacol, mustard alcohol).
Lignin is one of the components that make up the walls of plant cells and has the effect of keeping the cells together. Lignin is a polycyclic macromolecular organic substance containing many negatively charged groups, and has a strong affinity for highly valent metal ions in the soil.
What are the common soluble dietary fibers?
The soluble dietary fibers that appear more frequently in the ingredient lists of everyday prepackaged foods are oligofructose and oligogalactose, and below we take stock of the dual identity of these two soluble dietary fibers.
Oligofructose Oligofructose can be used as both food fortifier and common food ingredient. According to the Standard for the Use of Food Nutritional Enrichment (GB 14880), when used as a nutritional enhancer for children’s milk powder and maternal milk powder and infant formula and infant cereal food, it should satisfy the requirements of oligofructose additives and sources of compounds stipulated in GB 14880; when used as a raw material of common food, the executive standard is GB/T 23528.2- 2021 “Quality Requirements for Oligosaccharides”. 2021 “Quality Requirements for Oligosaccharides Part 2: Oligofructose”, can be added in appropriate amount according to production needs.
Oligogalactose Oligogalactose is a compound of glucose and galactose generated by lactose hydrolyzed by galactosidase, which is a functional oligosaccharide with natural properties.
Oligogalactose is widely used in baby food, baked goods, dairy products, beverages, confectionery, and also has the function of supplementing nutrition, regulating intestinal flora, and promoting gastrointestinal motility.
Oligogalactose can be used as both new food raw material and food nutritional fortifier; oligogalactose is made from lactose in cow’s milk, hydrolyzed the galactoside bond catalyzed by β-galactosidase to generate galactose and glucose, and through the action of transgalactoside, the hydrolyzed galactoside will be transferred to lactose molecule to generate oligogalactose.
Oligogalactose as a nutritional enhancer can be used in children’s prepared milk powder, infant formula and infant cereal supplement, as a new food ingredient can be used in baby food, dairy products, beverages, baked goods, confectionery, according to the use of different applications, should meet the corresponding requirements of different status of the amount of additive or serving size.
What other common soluble dietary fibers are available?
In addition, there are several other ingredients that are clearly known to provide a source of dietary fiber: oligoisomaltose, inulin, polyfructose, polydextrose, oligosaccharides, β-glucan (oat source), and resistant dextrin.
Oligomeric isomaltose Oligomeric isomaltose is a kind of amylose. Oligomeric isomaltose rarely exists in a free state in nature, but as a component of branched-chain starch or polysaccharides, it exists in small quantities in certain fermented foods, such as soy sauce, yellow wine, or enzyme glucose syrup.
The industrial production of oligomeric isomaltose from starch requires an enzyme, which is α-glucosidase, also known as glucosyltransferase, or simply α-glucosidase. It can cut the α-1,6 glycosidic bond in the molecular structure of maltose and malt oligosaccharides, and can transfer a glucose residue that is free to another glucose molecule or maltose or maltotriose and other molecules in the α-1,6 position to form isomaltose, isomaltotriose, isomaltotetrasaccharide, isomaltpentasaccharide, and pentasaccharide and pentosaccharides.
Inulin is a reserve polysaccharide in plants, mainly originated from plants, and more than 36,000 kinds have been found, including 11 families of dicotyledonous plants, such as Asteraceae, Erythrartaceae, Gentianaceae, etc., and monocotyledonous plants, such as Liliaceae and Gramineae.
Inulin is one of the constituents of plant cell wall and a soluble dietary fiber, which is soluble in water and tastes similar to starch. Inulin molecule is polymerized by several β-D-fructofuranose and 1~2 inulin residues, and the fructose residues can be connected by β-2,1-glycosidic bond.
Inulin is widely distributed in nature. For example, inulin is abundant in the tubers of inulin, chicory, the tubers of geranium peony (dahlia), and the roots of artichoke, of which the inulin content of inulin in inulin is the highest in inulin.
Polyfructose Polyfructose, also known as inulin, is an oligosaccharides with health care functions extracted from chicory roots and made by extraction and filtration, removal of proteins, minerals and short-chain fructans, and spray drying.
Polyfructose is formed by connecting α-fructose with β-1,2 glycosidic bond and connecting a glucose residue at its end, its molecular formula is [C~6~H~12~O~6~]n, it is one of the constituents of plant cell wall, and it is also a kind of soluble dietary fiber, which can be dissolved in water, and the taste is similar to starch.
Polydextrose Polydextrose (polydextrose) is a kind of water-soluble dietary fiber, the chemical formula is (C6H10O5)n. It is white or off-white solid particles, easily soluble in water, with a solubility of 70%, and the PH value of 10% aqueous solution is 2.5-7.0, with no special taste, and it is a kind of food component with health care functionality, which can supplement the Water-soluble dietary fiber needed by human body. After entering the human digestive system, it produces special physiological metabolic functions, thus preventing constipation and fat deposition.
Xylo-oligosaccharide, also known as xylo-oligosaccharides, is a functional polymerized sugar consisting of 2-7 xylose molecules bound by β-1,4-glycosidic bonds.
Oligosaccharide is a xylo-oligosaccharide with polymerization degree of 2-7, it is a kind of oligosaccharides with great development potential, its function of bifidogenic factor is 10-20 times more than other polymerized saccharides, and it has the characteristics of acid resistance, high temperature resistance, and the stability is 2-4 times more than other polymerized saccharides.
Beta-glucan Beta-glucan (oat source) is a non-starch polysaccharide present in the cell walls of oat endosperm and dextrin layer.
β-Glucan is a polymer formed from the monomer β-D-glucopyranose, linked by β-(1→3) and β-(1→4) glycosidic bonds.
Among them, the distribution of β-(1→3) and β-(1→4) glycosidic bonds is not completely ordered nor completely meta-ordered, and is mainly the fibrous trisaccharides or fibrous tetrasaccharides of β-(1→4) glucan, with more than 85% of oat β-glucan molecules connected by 1 β-(1→3) glycosidic bond for every 2 to 3 β-(1→4) glycosidic bonds, and 15% are composed of long-chained β-(1→4) glycosidic bonds spaced 1 β-(1→3) glycosidic bond and may have 4, 5 or 8 glucose residues in its length.
Resistant dextrin Resistant dextrin is a low-molecular water-soluble dietary fiber, processed from starch, which is a low-molecular water-soluble dietary fiber made by extracting and treating the indigestible components of bakery dextrins and refining them with industrial technology.
Resistant dextrin has a broad development prospect in the food industry, belongs to low molecular water-soluble dietary fiber.
How is dietary fiber marked on food labels?
1、How is dietary fiber labeled on the label? Dietary fiber is a non-core nutrient, companies can choose to label according to need, if the product itself contains dietary fiber, based on the actual test value can be labeled as dietary fiber, or dietary fiber (to soluble dietary fiber), or dietary fiber (to insoluble dietary fiber).

If additional soluble dietary fiber is added to the product, it can also be labeled in the form of dietary fiber monomer, such as dietary fiber (polyfructose) or dietary fiber (polyfructose and inulin), at this time, the nutrient content table should be the end product in the soluble dietary fiber monomer content, rather than the amount of additive.

2, dietary fiber is involved in energy calculation dietary fiber energy conversion factor of 8kJ / g, including the product itself contains dietary fiber and other dietary fiber monomer components such as non-digestible oligosaccharides, non-digestible starch, resistant dextrin.
When dietary fiber is labeled in the nutrition label of the product, the energy provided by dietary fiber, etc. should be calculated.
If companies do not choose to label dietary fiber, you can exclude the energy provided in the calculation of energy.
3, how dietary fiber claims dietary fiber content claims should be consistent with the requirements of GB 28050.

If the total amount of dietary fiber (or soluble dietary fiber, insoluble dietary fiber or single component) is ≥3g/100g (solid) [or ≥1.5g/100mL (liquid), or ≥1.5 g/ 420 kJ], it can be labeled as “Source of Dietary Fiber” or “Containing Dietary Fiber” on the food label. Contains Dietary Fiber”.
If the total amount of dietary fiber (or soluble dietary fiber, insoluble dietary fiber or single component) is ≥6g/100g (solid) [or ≥3g/100 mL (liquid), ≥3g/420 kJ], then the label can be marked with “high dietary fiber”, “dietary fiber rich”, or “high in dietary fiber”. “or “good source of dietary fiber”.
4. How to make functional claims for dietary fiber Dietary fiber can make functional claims when it meets one of the conditions of content claims or comparative claims.
The functional claim of dietary fiber can be labeled as “dietary fiber helps maintain normal intestinal function” or “dietary fiber is a low-energy substance”.
The above functional claims can be indicated in any position of the label, and its font size shall not be larger than the food name and trademark.
5, whether the quantitative labeling of dietary fiber dietary fiber is a kind of food in the natural existence of nutrients, but also through food ingredients (such as oligofructose) added to the finished product, so if the product is added additional soluble dietary fiber monomers, you can claim that the addition of dietary fiber on the label.
At this time, it is necessary to identify the amount of dietary fiber added in the ingredient list, but also in the nutrient content table to mark the content of dietary fiber.

6、About Nutrient Reference Values NRV Nutrient Reference Values (NRV, Nutrition Reference Values) are reference values used to compare the nutrient content of food, “Nutrient Reference Values” and “NRV” can be written in the Nutrition Facts Table at the same time. “Nutrient Reference Value” and ‘NRV’ can be written in the Nutrient Composition Table at the same time, or only one, such as ‘Nutrient Reference Value (NRV)%’, ‘Nutrient Reference Value %’ or ‘NRV%’. “.

When the total ingredient content is represented by a single ingredient, the NRV value of the total ingredient can be used for calculation. For example, soluble dietary fiber and/or insoluble dietary fiber can be calculated using the NRV value for dietary fiber.
A product contains or added dietary fiber, the test value of soluble dietary fiber 2.5g/100g, total dietary fiber 3.2g/100g, then the total dietary fiber can be labeled, or can be counted as a single component, labeled as: dietary fiber 3.2g/100g, 13% (NRV%); or dietary fiber (as soluble dietary fiber) 2.5g/100g, 10% ( NRV%); or dietary fiber (as insoluble dietary fiber) 0.7g/100g, 3% (NRV%).