Milling & Baking News - February 28, 2017 - 16

Washington X

A.B.A. asks F.D.A. to rescind or
reconsider its fiber definition
WASHINGTON - The American
Bakers Association in a letter dated
Feb. 13 requested that the Food and
Drug Administration rescind its fiber
definition.
"A.B.A. believes the current definition of dietary fiber is not practical
or workable and requests that F.D.A.
reconsider its definition," the letter
signed by Lee Sanders, the A.B.A.'s senior vice-president, government relations and public affairs, said. "A.B.A.
has encountered numerous unintended consequences and unaccounted
costs and burdens associated with the
definition - likely a result of F.D.A.'s
issuance of the definition prior to thoroughly understanding and addressing
the impact of the decision.
"A.B.A., therefore, requests that
F.D.A. rescind the definition of dietary
fiber or at least stay the definition until it has adequately addressed the numerous concerns since it finalized the
definition."
The F.D.A., as part of a Nutrition

Facts Panel final rule issued in the
May 27, 2016, issue of the Federal
Register, said naturally occurring dietary fibers meet the definition as do
added isolated or synthetic fibers that
the F.D.A. has determined have a
physiological effect beneficial
to human health. The F.D.A.
in the Nov. 23, 2016, issue of
the Federal Register gave draft
guidance on evaluating the scientific evidence of beneficial
physiological effects and requested public comment.
The Washington-based
A.B.A. gave its comments
in the Feb. 13 letter. The A.B.A. said
the F.D.A. did not provide ample time
for industry input and for adequate
research to understand the nature and
benefits of ingredients currently declared in the definition of dietary fiber.
"It is clear that F.D.A. still does not
sufficiently understand dietary fiber
enough to define it or regulate a definition," the letter said.

The F.D.A. identified seven nondigestible carbohydrates as meeting
its dietary fiber definition: beta-glucan
soluble fiber, psyllium husk, cellulose,
guar gum, pectin, locust bean gum and
hydroxypropylmethylcellulose.
The
A.B.A. letter asked how the F.D.A. will
treat an ingredient that has an identical
chemical structure to one of the seven
approved non-digestible carbohydrates. The F.D.A. lists cellulose
as approved dietary fiber, for example, but other sources of cellulose, such as sugar cane fiber
or sugar beet fiber, may have an
identical chemical structure to
the approved dietary fiber.
The A.B.A. letter expressed concerns over isolated or synthetic non-digestible carbohydrates.
Beta-glucan soluble fiber and psyllium husk should be removed from the
list of isolated or synthetic non-digestible carbohydrates, the A.B.A. letter
said. Most beta-glucan soluble fibers
clearly are intrinsic and intact, the letter said. They include oat bran, rolled
oats, whole oat flour, oatrim, whole
grain barley and dry milled barley. MBN

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Milling & Baking News - February 28, 2017

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