Food manufacturers can now use “natural dietary fiber” as a claim on products featuring Taiyo’s Sunfiber dietary fiber. The ingredient has been classified as 100 percent natural by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – technical specification, ISO 19657:2017. As a result, manufacturers can also simplify the certification process for their own products. Natural guar bean fiber is one of the rare, truly pure plant-based fibers that allows formulators to enrich and enhance high-quality foods, according to Taiyo.

Consumers who are increasingly concerned about the origin of their food and value naturalness, also benefit from the guaranteed quality of the ingredient. To recognize whether or not a product contains a natural and/or a synthetically produced dietary fiber is not easy. There are a lot of chemically modified, polymerised, denatured or synthetic fibers on the market that, at first glance, look familiar and appear to be natural, as denatured starch or polydextrose.

“In today’s climate of adulteration and contamination, it has never been more important to take every necessary step to ensure ingredient quality,” says Dr. Stefan Siebrecht, Managing Director of Taiyo, Germany. “Pure and safe raw materials are the measure of all things for us and a prerequisite for high-quality products. We would, for example, welcome an officially authorized organization that certifies natural products.”

“The increasing consumer interest in natural ingredients is a corollary of the mega-trend that encompasses veganism, vegetarianism and, to a certain extent, flexitarianism, as well as the growing demand for organic, plant based, pure and sustainable products. People want to know more about what they’re eating, wher it comes from and how it’s sourced. A buying decision can be won or lost on the presence or absence of chemical sounding names on the nutrition panel,” Dr. Siebrecht tells.

Industry must be encouraged to be ever-more diligent than before in terms of sourcing, tracing and quality control, he notes. “The authenticity of the raw materials must be guaranteed both in the country of origin and at the companys own factory gate and subsequently confirmed by laboratory analyses. In the future, perhaps, we’ll even see a ratified and authorized regulatory body that provides a properly regulated environment in which to operate.”

“As a result, companies could communicate this certification to consumers,” Dr. Siebrecht continues. “Close supplier relationships and quality control based on the strictest regulations and standards are therefore part of our daily business. Our customers can rest assured that they’re buying genuine, natural raw materials of the highest quality from us, which subsequently contribute to clean labeling.”

Backed by science, Sunfiber is clinically proven to lower the glycemic index, contributing to stabilized blood glucose levels. For this reason, Sunfiber has achieved a Health Claim for lowering after-meal blood glucose levels by 20 percent from the Canadian health authorities. It comprises 100 percent partially hydrolyzed guar gum from the Indian Guar Bean (Cyamopsis tetragonolobus) and is Taiyo’s versatile all-round water-soluble solution when it comes to enriching food and beverages with digestive fibers.

Sunfiber also acts as a probiotic in the gastrointestinal tract and helps to slow down and reduce the absorption of fat, cholesterol and sugar. It is compatible with a low fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols (FODMAP) diet because its fermentation rate is very slow, which means that it doesn’t induce painful gas, cramping or discomfort.

Taiyo, which specializes in plant-based concepts with nutritional benefits, is constantly working on new concepts and is going to certify more products to differentiate them from synthetic ones.

Last October, Taiyo, Sinalco and Sweethouse launched functional beverage concept Energy 4.0 cola, which is enriched with guar bean dietary fibers. Speaking about the specific benefits of guar gum, Dr. Siebrecht said this ingredient offers “satiety, more energy via adenosine monophosphate kinase (AMPK) activation.”

“Fiber benefits include improvement of allergies, improvement of anxiety, improvement of autism, stress and ADHD,” he previously told.

In May 2019, a pilot study from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (KPUM) in Japan revealed that soluble guar fiber may help improve constipation and irritability in children within the autism spectrum. The researchers found that supplementation with six grams of Taiyo’s Sunfiber modulated the gut microbiome and led to less irritability in the behavior of children taking part in the trial. The findings opened opportunities for developing new formulations within the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) market.