May 2012/Prepared Foods -- North Americans try to consume more fiber. In fact, 72% of the 1,000+ people surveyed in 2011’s International Food Information Council’s (IFIC) “Food and Health Survey” say so. The reasons include acceptance by the healthcare community regarding the established health benefits of fiber and label regulations that allow positive health statements related to fiber content. Both the U.S. and Health Canada recommend the consumption of approximately 25-38g of dietary fiber per day (U.S. Institute of Medicine, 2002). However, dietary assessments estimate, on average, people are only consuming about 15-19g per day.
At Food Ingredients Europe (FIE), Paris, new brand name Nexira (a synergistic merger of CNI Colloides Internationale, Bio Serae Laboratories and NutriProcess Co.) introduced Fibregum Crystal Pure, a highly purified acacia gum which provides exceptional transparency with reduced turbidity. The unique functional attributes of this ingredient have been achieved through a proprietary process developed to protect the natural characteristics of the gum. Crystal Pure can be used to create cost-effective functional beverages with high-fiber and low-calorie content.