The Cereals & Grains Association, using a scientific review committee constituted to provide a balance between academia, industry, and government and utilizing teleconferences, interactive workshops for scientific input, and an interactive website for global input, adopted the following definition:
"Dietary fiber is the edible parts of plants or analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine with complete or partial fermentation in the large intestine. Dietary fiber includes polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, lignin, and associated plant substances. Dietary fibers promote beneficial physiological effects including laxation, and/or blood cholesterol attenuation, and/or blood glucose attenuation."
Background on the definition:
Responses to Issues Related to Defining Dietary Fiber
Cereals & Grains Association (formerly AACC International) has released the following responses on this topic.