ID 771 - Oligofructose-enriched inulin (specific selection of short and long chains) from chicory

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EN: Oligofructose-enriched inulin (specific selection of short and long chains) from chicory
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1.10. Inulin-type fructans (ID 766, 767, 768, 769, 770, 771, 772, 804, 848, 849, 2922, 3092)

The food constituents that are the subject of the health claims are ―inulin/oligofructose/oligofructose-enriched inulin (specific selection of short & long chains) from chicory‖, ―inulin/FOS (ß2→1 linked fructans)‖, ―inulin/oligofructose from chicory‖, ―oligofructose-enriched inulin (specific selection of short & long chains) from chicory‖ and ―inulin/oligofructose‖ and ―prebiotics‖ related to the following claimed effects: bowel function, defence against gastrointestinal pathogens, increase in calcium absorption and retention, increase in bone mineral density, maintenance of normal blood glucose concentrations, and satiety.
From the conditions of use related to these claims and from the references provided, the Panel assumes that the food constituents, which are the subject of the claims, are mixtures of inulin and oligofructose from chicory, substances known as inulin-type fructans.
Inulin-type fructans are linear polymers consisting of fructose molecules with mainly (or exclusively) β (2→1) linkages. They are extracted industrially from chicory. The term inulin-type fructans covers three types of chemical compounds: oligofructose (degree of polymerisation 2–8, average degree of polymerisation 4), native inulin (degree of polymerisation 2–60, average degree of polymerisation 12), and inulin HP (highly polymerised) (degree of polymerisation 10–60, average degree of polymerisation 25), or specific combinations of oligofructose and inulin. Native chicory inulin is a non-fractionated inulin extracted from fresh roots, which always contains glucose, fructose, sucrose and small oligosaccharides. About 10 % of the fructan chains in native chicory inulin have a degree of polymerisation ranging between 2 and 5. The partial enzymatic hydrolysis of inulin using an endo-inulinase produces oligofructose with degrees of polymerisation between 2 and 7. In oligofructose-enriched inulin, low and high molecular weight compounds are mixed. Long-chain inulin or inulin HP is produced by applying physical separation techniques to eliminate all oligomers with degrees of polymerisation <10. The term inulin is used to identify both native chicory inulin and any other derived industrial products except oligofructose (Roberfroid, 2005).
The references provided for the scientific substantiation of the health claims related to gut microbiota and changes in bowel function used native inulin from chicory (e.g. Bouhnik et al., 2007; Causey et al., 2000; Den Hond et al., 2000; Gibson et al., 1995a; Kleessen et al., 1997a, 1997b), highly polymerised inulin (e.g. Tuohy et al., 2001), Jerusalem artichoke inulin (Kleessen et al., 2007), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) from chicory (Menne et al., 2000), FOS from sucrose (e.g. Bouhnik et al., 1999; Mitsuoka et al., 1987; Tokunaga et al., 1993), FOS from unknown origin (e.g. Buddington et al., 1996; Rao, 2001), or a mixture of FOS, glucose, fructose, and sucrose (e.g. Boutron-Ruault et al., 2005). The references provided for the scientific substantiation of the health claims related to calcium absorption and bone mineral density used 1:1 mixtures of oligofructose and long-chain inulin from chicory (e.g. Abrams et al., 2005), mixtures of 92 % inulin and 8 % short-chain oligofructose (e.g. Kruger et al., 2003), FOS from chicory (e.g. Kim et al., 2004; Lobo et al., 2006), native inulin from chicory (e.g. Roberfroid et al., 2002), or oligofructans with various degrees of polymerisation. The references provided for the scientific substantiation of the health claims related to satiety used native inulin from chicory or commercial inulin preparations not better described (e.g. Archer et al., 2004), inulin HP (e.g. Cani et al., 2004), FOS from chicory (e.g. Cani et al., 2005; 2006), or FOS from unknown origin (e.g. Whelan et al., 2006). Similarly, the references provided for the scientific substantiation of the health claims related to blood cholesterol concentrations used mixtures of inulin and FOS from chicory (e.g. Brighenti et al., 1999), FOS from chicory (e.g. Alles et al., 1999), or native inulin from chicory (e.g. Causey et al., 2000; Davidson and Maki, 1999).
The Panel notes that the food constituents described in relation to the health claims, and the food constituents used in the references provided for scientific substantiation, include a wide variety of inulin-type fructans with variable degrees of polymerisation, which could have an impact on the claimed effects.
The Panel considers that the food constituents, inulin-type fructans, which are the subject of the health claims, are not sufficiently characterised in relation to the claimed effects considered in this section.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship cannot be established between the consumption of inulin-type fructans and the claimed effects considered in this section.

Warunki i możliwe ograniczenia stosowania oświadczenia

Where a daily value is indicated the amount per serving is typicaly 25% unless otherwise stated, 8g/day