John Cummings and others explain a new definition of dietary fibre in the Lancet published January 31st 2009.
On November 20th the 30th session of Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses met in South Africa and agreed a definition for dietary fibre.
Dietary fibre means carbohydrate polymers with ten or more monomeric units, which are not hydrolysed by endogenous enzymes in small intestine of human beings and belong to following categories:
Edible carbohydrate polymers naturally occurring in food as consumed
Carbohydrate polymers, which have been obtained from raw material in food by physical, enzymatic, or chemical means and which have been shown to have physiological effect of benefit to health by generally accepted scientific evidence to competent authorities
Synthetic carbohydrate polymers, which have been shown to have physiological effect of benefit to health by generally accepted scientific evidence to competent authorities
Methods of analysis for dietary fibre to be agreed.

Cummings et al 2009 Dietary Fibre : an agreed definition. Lancet vol 373 365-6

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