Nutrition Bars: Fiber Options

There’s more than one way of getting fiber into a bar. Below are a few fiber suppliers and their nutrition bar fiber lines.

Grain Processing Corp. (Muscatine, IA)

TruBran F80T: Made from oat hulls, this fiber source is light in color and provides a minimum of 80% total dietary fiber. TruBran F80T oat fiber is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use as a fiber in snacks, cereals, baked goods, nutritional bars, beverages, and supplements.

TruBran F75M: Also GRAS-approved for use as a fiber in snacks, cereals, baked goods, nutritional bars, beverages, and supplements, this corn-based fiber is made of 100% yellow corn. TruBran F75M is finely milled corn bran, which provides 75% dietary fiber with a golden brown color. The corn bran is also available in a coarser version, F75R.

Sterling Choice Flaxseed: Via a partnership with Enreco (Sheboygan Falls, WI), the company now markets this milled flaxseed at 25 to 28 g of dietary fiber per 100 g of flaxseed. The flaxseed is also a source of the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Just 0.8 g of flaxseed allows companies to run the nutrient claim “a good source of ALA omega-3.”

International Fiber Corp. (North Tonawanda, NY)

Cellulose: Available under the company’s Solka-Floc, JustFiber, and NutraFiber brands, this line of powdered cellulose fiber offers 99% dietary fiber and is a source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The fiber also has the ability to increase the shelf life of some bars, according to the company.

Oat: Also available in the company’s JustFiber line is oat fiber. Oat fiber imparts high water-holding capacity and has the ability to withstand higher temperatures.

Sugar beet: Under the Fibrex line, sugar beet fiber is a soluble fiber that the company says works well with gluten-free bars. The company says that the fiber can act as a processing aid for probiotic use and can lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad” cholesterol). The sugar beet fiber is also available in an organic version.