A collaborative study was conducted to determine the insoluble dietary fiber (IDF), soluble dietary fiber (SDF), and total dietary fiber (TDF) content of food and food products by using a combination of enzymatic and gravimetric procedures. The method was basically the same as that developed for TDF only, which was adopted official final action by AOAC, except for changing the concentration of buffer and base and substituting hydrochloric acid for phosphoric acid. These changes were made to improve the robustness of the method. Duplicate blind samples of soy isolate, white wheat flour, rye bread, potatoes, rice, corn bran, oats, Fabulous Fiber, wheat bran, and a high fiber cereal were analyzed by 13 collaborators. Dietary fiber values (IDF, SDF, and TDF) were calculated as the weight of residue minus the weight of protein and ash. The coefficients of variation (CVs) of both the independent TDF determination and the sum of IDF and SDF were better than 15 and 18%, respectively, with the exception of rice and soy isolate. These 2 foods, however, contained only about 1% TDF. The CVs of the IDF were equally good, except for Fabulous Fiber, for which filtration problems occurred. The CVs for the SDF were somewhat high, but these products had very low SDF content. There was excellent agreement between the TDF determined independently and the TDF determined by summing the IDF and SDF. The method for separate determination of IDF and SDF requires further study. The modifications (changes in concentration of buffer and base and the use of hydrochloric acid instead of phosphoric acid) to the official final action method for TDF have been adopted.

A rapid enzymic method for starch analysis, especially in cereal products, is presented. One person can analyze 30 samples per day. The method includes a 15 min gelatinization step in a boiling water bath in the presence of a thermostable α‐amylase, a 30 min amyloglucosidase incubation of a subsample, and subsequent determination of glucose with a glucose oxidase/peroxidase reagent. The method was evaluated by analysis of the starch content in various raw and industrially processed wheat samples. The method showed high precision (CV=0.6–1.0%) and accuracy. Some factors which might affect the enzymic availability of starch and thus its recovery in the analysis are evaluated and discussed.

A collaborative study was conducted to determine the total dietary fiber (TDF) content of food and food products, using a combination of enzymatic and gravimetric procedures. The method was basically the same as published earlier (/. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. (1984) 67,1044- 1052), with changes in the concentration of alcohol and buffers, time of incubation, sample preparation, and some explanatory notes, all with the intent of decreasing the coefficient of variation (CV) of the method. Duplicate blind samples of soy isolate, white wheat flour, rye i bread, potatoes, rice, wheat bran, oats, corn bran, and whole wheat Sour were analyzed by 9 collaborators. TDF was calculated as the weight of the residue minus the weight of protein and ash. CV values of the data from all laboratories for 7 of the samples ranged from 1.56 to 9.80%. The rice and soy isolate samples had CV values of 53.71% and66.25%, respectively; however, each sample contained only about 1% TDF. The enzymatic-gravimetric method for determining TDF has been adopted official first action.

Recognizing the possible beneficial effect of prebiotics in food, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened a Technical meeting to start work on the evaluation of the functional and health properties of prebiotics. A group of international experts agreed on guidelines, recommended criteria, and methodology for conducting a systematic approach for the evaluation of prebiotics leading to its safe use in food. It was recommended that a full expert consultation be convened under the auspices of FAO. This work provides governments, industry, and consumers with scientific advice in relation to functional and health aspects of prebiotics and general guidance for the assessment of prebiotics in relation to their nutritional properties or safety. These guidelines may also be used by Member Countries and Codex Alimentarius to identify and define what data need to be available to accurately substantiate health and nutrition claims.

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Amylose from potatoes was complexed with lysolecithin and oleic acid. The degradation of complexed amylose by hog pancreatic α‐amylase in‐vitro was studied, as well as the in‐vivo absorption in the rat. The presence of a bacterial thermostable α‐amylase in the gelatinization step increased the result of a starch analysis using glucoamylase. Complexed amylose displayed a substantially reduced susceptibility to α‐amylase in‐vitro. However, when adding a large excess of enzyme, the complex was completely hydrolyzed after 3 h. Amylose‐lysolecithin complex disappeared from the gastrointestinal tract within 120 min. The complexed amylose was hydrolyzed and adsorbed to the same extent as free amylose in‐vivo but somewhat slower.

A collaborative study was conducted to validate a method to determine the Insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) and soluble dietary fiber (SDF) contents of foods and food products by using a combination of enzymatic and gravimetric procedures. The method was basically the same as that for determining total dietary fiber, which was adopted as final action by AOAC and further modified to Include changes in the concentration of buffer and base and substitution of hydrochloric acid for phosphoric acid. Thirty-nine collaborators were each sent 7 test samples In a staggered design for duplicate blind analysis. They were also sent a standard containing 4.3-5.4% IDF and 1.5-2.7% SDF. The 22 foods that were analyzed for IDF and SDF were cabbage, carrots, French beans, kidney beans, butter beans, okra, onions, parsley, chick peas, brussels sprouts, barley, rye flour, turnips, soy bran, wheat germ, raisins, Callmyrna figs, prune powder, Black Mission figs, apple powder, peach powder, and apricot powder. Both IDF and SDF values were calculated as the weight of residue minus the weight of protein and ash reported on a dry weight basis. The reproducibility relative standard deviation (RSDR) of the IDF results ranged from 3.68 to 19.44% for the foods analyzed; almost half the test samples had an RSDR <10%. The RSDR values for the SDF results were somewhat higher. Approximately 50% of the foods analyzed had an RSDR >20%, and 45% had an RSDR between 10 and 20%. An RSDR approaching 45% was calculated for the 2 test samples with the lowest SDF content, 1.35 and 1.90%. Raisins and prune powder had high RSDR values for both SDF and IDF. A major reason for high RSDR values seems to be filtration problems, which are avoidable by analyzing 0.5-0.25 g test samples. The method for the determination of SDF requires further study, but the method for the determination of IDF was adopted first action by AOAC International.

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