OTTAWA – Health Canada recently approved the classification of several ingredients as dietary fiber sources.

Health Canada issued a letter of approval to MGP Ingredients, Atchison, Kas., regarding the classification of Fibersym RW and FiberRite resistant wheat starches as dietary fiber sources in unstandardized foods. According to the letter, Health Canada concluded the in vitro, animal and human studies provide support that the modified wheat starch products are non-digestible carbohydrates that produce energy-yielding metabolites through colonic fermentation.

Fibersym RW delivers a minimum of 85% total dietary fiber and has been shown to work in commercial flour-based foods such as bread, buns, muffins, bagels, breakfast cereals, pasta, noodles, cookies, pastries, pizza crusts and flour tortillas. FiberRite RW acts as a partial fat replacer in such products as yogurt, salad dressings, sandwich spreads, baked foods, sauces, fruit fillings, confections and frozen desserts.

The other Health Canada approvals involved inulin.

Health Canada added Beneo’s portfolio of inulin and oligofructose ingredients, which are based on chicory root, to its list of accepted dietary fibers.

All of Beneo’s prebiotic fibers derived from chicory root now may be marketed as dietary fiber in Canada. The company’s OraftiST and OraftiGR received dietary fiber status in 2006. Scientific studies have shown the ingredients are not digested by intestinal enzymes and instead are transported to the large intestine for fermentation.

Health Canada also approved Nutraflora prebiotic fiber ingredients from Ingredion, Inc., Westchester, Ill., as a dietary fiber source. More than 200 scientific publications have validated health benefits for Nutraflora, a short-chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS). Nutraflora has been shown to work in such applications as dairy items, beverages and supplements.  

Another Health Canada approval went to the Frutalose line of products from Sensus America, Inc., Lawrenceville, N.J. The line includes a range of oligofructose products, a form of partially hydrolyzed, chicory root inulin. Potential applications include bars, cereals, baked foods and dairy items.

The Frutalose approval as a dietary fiber source complemented the approval of Sensus America’s Frutafit inulin from Health Canada in 2006.