ARTICLE IN PRESS

JOURNAL OF
FOOD COMPOSITION
AND ANALYSIS
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 19 (2006) 5966
www.elsevier.com/locate/jfca

Original Article

Dietary bre in baby foods of major brands sold in Canada$

Stephen P.J. Brooksa,, Roger Mongeaub, Josephine R. Deeksa,
Brian J. Lampia, Rene Brassarda
a

Nutrition Research Division, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, PL2203C Banting Research Centre, 1 Ross Avenue, Ottawa, Ont.,
Canada K1A 0L2
b
Nutrition Consultant, Ottawa, Ont., Canada
Received 24 October 2003; received in revised form 16 August 2004; accepted 15 February 2005

Abstract
Total dietary bre (TDF) was measured using the rapid gravimetric method (AOAC 992.16) in 88 infant foods available in the
Canadian marketplace. The sampling included 18 different lots (depending on availability) and indicated approximately equal
TDF values in vegetable products (1.4870.78 g/100 g, n 13), fruit products (1.2370.83 g/100 g, n 26) and cereal products
(0.7870.35 g/100 g, n 39) when compared on a ready-to-eat basis. Ready-to-eat dinners and meat products had signicantly
lower TDF content (0.4170.17 g/100 g, n 13). Individual TDF values ranged from 3 g/100 g as is (junior peas) and 2.9 g/100 g as
is (toddler Bartlett pears) to 0.16 g/100 g as is (custard plain w/arrowroot, banana and butterscotch) and 0.15 g/100 g as is (toddler
chicken with rice). In some cases, infant foods had higher soluble dietary bre/insoluble dietary bre ratios than the published values
for similar adult foods suggesting that processing of infant foods has occurred. Calculations using the TDF content of these foods
revealed that they may be adequate in preparing infants for dietary patterns that approach recent Institute of Medicine
recommendations of 19 g/d for infants between 1 and 3 years of age.
r 2005 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Keywords: Infant foods; Total dietary bre; Soluble dietary bre; Insoluble dietary bre; Nutrition; Recommendations

1. Introduction
There is much evidence that dietary bre (DF) may
contribute to present and future health benets in young
children (Williams et al., 1995). For example, DF has a
major inuence on the bacterial colonization of the
gastrointestinal tract and its maturation, in promoting
laxation, and in establishing healthy eating patterns
(Edwards and Parrett, 2003). Foods high in dietary bre
have also been associated with higher satiety (Bolton et
al., 1981), lower incidences of obesity (Hanley et al.,
2000), and improved micronutrient intake in children
(Williams et al., 2001).
$

Publication #587 of the Bureau of Nutritional Sciences.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 613 941 0451;

fax: +1 613 941 6182.

E-mail address: Steve_Brooks@hc-sc.gc.ca (S.P.J. Brooks).
0889-1575/$ - see front matter r 2005 Published by Elsevier Inc.
doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2005.02.002

While eating foods high in DF is recognized as

important, controversy over recommendations for
infant DF intake exists. Few organizations have
quantied their recommendations, avoiding setting
specic values by proposing that individuals introduce
a variety of fruits, vegetables, and easily digested
DF in the very young (Canadian Paediatric Society,
Dietitians of Canada and Health Canada, 1998;
Department of Health, 1991; Marlett et al., 2002).
Recently, however, the Institute of Medicine in the
United States has recommended a specic value of 19 g/
d for children between 1 and 3 years of age. This value,
based on TDF intakes of 3.3 g/1000 kJ (14 g/1000 kcal),
is based on a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in
adults aged 19 years and older (Institute of Medicine,
2002) and is signicantly higher than other published
values. For example, it is approximately three times
higher than the age plus 5 g/d rule proposed for

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S.P.J. Brooks et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 19 (2006) 5966

children older than 2 years of age (Agostoni et al., 1995;

Williams, 1995).
In order to help parents meet these recommendations,
it is essential that children be introduced to DFcontaining foods at an early age so that tastes and
eating patterns become established as early as possible.
The TDF content of infant foods plays a central role in
meeting these recommendations as well as in developing
the palate of the young, habituating them to higher bre
diets at a young age, stabilizing the intestinal population
by stimulating the proliferation of bacteria capable of
digesting DF and lowering the colonic pH.
While adults have a variety of foods from which to
meet DF recommendations, infants between 6 months
and 1 year of age are limited in their food choices. It is
important to measure the DF content of these foods in
order to assess their ability to provide adequate DF as
dened by newer recommendations for infants and so
that accurate data are provided for estimating nutrient
intakes, assessing disease risks, and establishing future
nutrition recommendations. The present study measured TDF in 88 infant foods (including soluble and
insoluble dietary bre) from ve different brands,
representing greater than 90% of the Canadian market
share. These values were used to estimate the feasibility
of these infant foods to help achieve newer dietary bre
recommendations. Finally, a comparison of the SDF/
IDF ratio in infant foods with adult foods suggests that
processing effects may play a role in the physiochemical
properties of DF in some infant foods.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Sample source
The baby foods were purchased from 1992 through
1996 in the Ottawa region. Sampling in one region is
nationally representative as nationwide distribution
originates from one production plant (consultations
with leading manufacturers). Each lot number represents one sample and the number of samples is reported
in the tables. The number of samples depended on
availability over a 4-month period. Expiration dates
were used as a basis for lot selection when lot numbers
were not available. Variability between lots was
predicted to be small as the production of baby food
products is subject to tight process controls. Manufacturers included two different preparations: junior
(intended for younger infants) and toddler (intended
for older infants). When available, both junior and
toddler preparations were purchased. Foods were
freeze-dried and milled in a Wiley mill using a
0.85 mm screen. Foods high in sugar were not milled
but were cut into smaller pieces (approximately 1 mm3)
using a razor blade. Foods containing 45% fat were

washed at room temperature with acetone as outlined in

AOAC 992.16. The dry, acetone washed powder was
stored at 20 1C until analysis. Storage time was less
than 30 days.
2.2. Dietary fibre measurements
Total DF values were analyzed by a rapid gravimetric
method that sequentially measures soluble and insoluble
bre fractions (AOAC 992.16; Mongeau and Brassard,
1993). This process efciently digests starch and
digestible protein to produce an insoluble bre residue
that includes cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin and undigestible (mostly structural) protein but excludes slowly
digestible starch (Mongeau, 1995). The TDF values
obtained by the above procedure are close to those
determined by the Prosky method for unprocessed foods
and they are not altered by processing of the foods
(Mongeau et al., 2001; Mongeau and Brassard, 1995;
Mongeau, 1995). Briey, the method involves autoclaving samples at 120 1C to gelatinize the starch followed by
treatment with heat-stable amylase and ltration. The
ltrate is further treated to give the soluble bre
fraction. This is done by adding amyloglucosidase and
protease to the ltrate to remove residual starch and
most protein. The soluble bre is precipitated with 80%
(nal v/v) alcohol and weighed. The insoluble residue is
treated with neutral detergent followed by a 65 min
treatment with alpha-amylase from porcine pancreas to
remove residual starch and some protein. The remaining
bre is ltered and weighed. Total dietary bre is the
sum of the soluble and insoluble fractions. The
determination of insoluble and soluble dietary bre is
made from a single test portion in duplicate.
The TDF values are reported as g/100 g food on an
as-is basis as well as on a ready-to-eat basis (dry cereal
products only). The weight of cereal in 100 g of prepared
cereal (dry+liquid) was calculated according to three
different methods: (i) using a conversion factor of 16.4 g
dry cereal per 100 g prepared cereal (Brands A and B;
see US Department of Agriculture, 1978), (ii) using a
conversion factor of 9.7 g dry cereal per 100 g prepared
cereal (Brands A and B; average of ready preparation
and microwave preparation as directed by the manufacturers on the cereal boxes) or (iii) using a conversion
factor of 20.4 g per 100 g prepared cereal, which reected
commonly used methods of cereal preparation and
represented the average of n 10 individuals who were
asked to prepare cereal from different brands without
specic directions. The nal conversion factor (15.4 g
dry cereal/100 g prepared cereal) represented an average
of all three factors discussed above. When required, the
densities of the dry cereals were obtained from the
Canadian Nutrient File (Health Canada, 1997).
Values are reported as mean7standard deviation
(S.D.). The range of values is also reported for each food.

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S.P.J. Brooks et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 19 (2006) 5966

Cereals were collected from ve different brand names

while all other foods were obtained from a single
manufacturer because these foods represent greater than
90% of the Canadian market share.

3. Results and discussion

The infant foods were separated into four categories,
based on their composition: fruit products and desserts,
ready-to-eat vegetable products, ready-to-eat dinners
and meat products, and dry cereal products. A
comparison of TDF values from all four groups, based
on the ready-to-eat formulation of the dry cereal
products, showed a statistically lower TDF content in
ready-to-eat dinners (0.4170.17 g/100 g as is) as compared to the other three food groupings (fruit products:
1.2370.83 g/100 g
as
is;
vegetable
products:
1.4870.78 g/100 g as is; cereal products: 0.7870.35 g/
100 g ready-to-eat).
The TDF content of ready-to-eat fruit products
varied from 0.23 g/100 g as is (Tutti frutti and yoghurt
with banana and raspberry) to 2.9 g/100 g as is (Bartlett
pears; see Table 1). Differences in TDF content were not
due to moisture content but reected the type of fruit

61

and, probably, its concentration in the nal product.

For example, the TDF content per 100 g dry weight of
infant food peach (T and J preparations), pear and
prunes compared favourably (130%, 120%, and 140%,
respectively, per dry weight) with the literature values
for adult foods (average of published values from
Marlett (1992), Marlett and Vollendorf (1994) and
Mongeau et al. (1989)) but the value for infant plums
did not, being approximately 40% of the average
literature average.
Vegetable products ranged from 0.44 g/100 g as is
(cauliower and cheese, J) to 3.00 g/100 g as is (peas, J;
Table 2). TDF values in single vegetable products
(excluding mixtures of vegetables), measured on a per
gram dry weight basis were similar to the literature
values for carrots, green and yellow beans, peas and
squash, varying from 120% (carrots) to 78% (squash).
A comparison of the TDF content of infant corn
revealed that it contained only 65% of the reported
TDF value for canned corn (adult food, average of
values from Anderson and Bridges (1988), Marlett
(1992) and Mongeau et al. (1989)).
The TDF values for ready-to-eat dinners and meat
products (Table 3) were signicantly lower than those
from the other categories. This probably reects the

Table 1
Total dietary bre content of ready-to-eat fruit products and desserts
Product

Apple and apricots, T (new formula)

Apple and apricots/raspberry, T
Apple and raisin, J
Apple sauce, T/J
Apricots, T/J
Banana and pineapple, T
Banana w/applesauce, J (new formula)
Banana with/without applesauce, T/J
Blueberry dessert, J
Custard plain w/arrowroot, banana and butterscotch
Fruit drink
Fruit salad, J
Mixed fruits, J
Mixed fruits, T
Mixed fruits, T (new formula)
Peach and apple oatmeal baby food
Peach, J
Peach, T
Pear Bartlett, T
Pineapple and pears, T (new formula)
Pineapple and pears, T/J
Plum, T
Prune, T
Prunes and oatmeal baby food
Tutti frutti, T/J
Yoghurt, w/banana and raspberry, T/J

1
4
2
5
5
5
2
5
4
5
3
5
5
3
3
4
5
5
4
1
4
2
5
4
5
5

g/100 g as is
Moisture

SDF/IDF

TDF7S.D.

84
84
79
87
83
83
77
84
86
82
90
84
88
87
81
85
83
80
86
82
88
81
80
79
84
84

0.6/1.0
0.3/0.4
0.7/1.0
0.5/0.8
0.3/0.3
0.1/0.2
0.7/1.2
0.2/0.2
0.1/0.2

0.2/0.1

0.3/0.5
0.4/0.6
0.9/1.2
0.5/0.8
0.5/0.5
1.1/1.0
1.0/1.9
1.0/1.7
0.3/0.4
0.4/0.3
1.4/1.0
0.9/1.1

1.6
0.870.1
1.770.1
1.370.1
0.570.1
0.370.1
1.970.2
0.470.1
0.370.0
0.270.1
0.370.1
0.470.0
0.870.0
1.070.1
2.170.1
1.470.2
1.170.1
2.170.2
2.970.1
2.7
0.770.0
0.870.0
2.470.3
2.070.0
0.270.1
0.270.0

n: number of samples analyzed; SDF/IDF: soluble/insoluble dietary ber; TDF: total dietary ber (mean7S.D.).
T: toddler formulation; J: junior formulation. New Formulas started to appear on the market in 1996.

TDF range

0.70.9
1.61.8
1.21.5
0.50.6
0.20.4
1.72.0
0.40.5
0.30.3
0.10.3
0.20.4
0.40.4
0.70.8
1.01.1
2.02.2
1.21.6
1.01.2
1.92.3
2.83.0
0.70.7
0.70.8
1.92.7
2.02.1
0.10.3
0.20.3

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S.P.J. Brooks et al. / Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 19 (2006) 5966

Table 2
Total dietary bre content of ready-to-eat vegetables products
Product

Carrot, T/J
Cauliower and cheese, J
Corn, J
Corn, T
Garden mix, T
Green and yellow beans, T/J
Green beans and brown rice baby food
Mixed vegetables, J
Parisienne mix, T/J
Peas and carrot, T
Peas, J
Peas, T
Squash, T/J

5
3
3
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
5

g/100 g as is
Moisture

SDF/IDF

TDF7S.D.

TDF range

95
91
84
87
91
92
89
89
90
89
85
87
93

0.7/0.7
0.2/0.2
0.2/0.8
0.1/0.6
0.5/1.0
0.9/1.1
0.7/0.9
0.6/0.6
0.3/0.3
0.8/1.5
0.8/2.2
0.7/1.8
0.4/0.7

1.470.1
0.470.0
0.970.1
0.770.1
1.670.0
2.070.2
1.570.0
1.370.0
0.670.1
2.370.1
3.070.3
2.570.1
1.170.0

1.41.5
0.40.5
0.91.0
0.71.0
1.51.6
1.82.2
1.51.6
1.21.3
0.50.6
2.12.5
2.83.6
2.42.6
1.11.1

Moisture

TDF7S.D.

TDF range

87
87
79
86
88
91
89
81
85
88
88
90
91

0.670.1
0.670.1
0.370.1
0.570.1
0.370.0
0.270.0
0.270.0
0.570.0
0.370.0
0.570.1
0.670.1
0.570.1
0.470.1

0.50.6
0.40.7
0.20.4
0.40.7
0.20.3
0.10.2
0.10.2
0.50.6
0.20.3
0.40.7
0.60.8
0.60.7
0.30.4

SDF/IDF: soluble/insoluble dietary ber; TDF: total dietary ber (mean7S.D.).

n: number of samples analyzed.
T: toddler formulation; J: junior formulation.

Table 3
Total dietary bre content of ready-to-eat dinners and meat products
Product

Beef stew, J
Beef w/alphabet/noodle/farina, with/without vegetables, T/J
Beef/chicken/ham/veal/lamb with broth
Chicken noodle with vegetables, T/J
Chicken rice, with vegetables, T/J
Chicken with rice, T
Ham and egg breakfast, T/J
Meat, beef with vegetables, T
Meat, chicken/veal, with vegetables, T
Turkey stew, J
Vegetables and beef, with liver/macaroni/spaghetti, T/J
Vegetables and beef/ham/lamb/veal/turkey, T/J
Vegetables and chicken, T/J

5
5
7
5
5
3
5
5
5
5
5
8
5

g/100 g as is

TDF: total dietary ber (mean7S.D.).

n: number of samples analyzed.
T: toddler formulation; J: junior formulation.

lower vegetable, fruit and cereal content as these

products are known to contain dietary bre while meat
does not. TDF values for dry cereal products (Table 4)
were signicantly higher than those from the other
categories but this was because these were measured in a
dried state, rather than as a ready-to-eat preparation.
The TDF contents of cereals on a ready-to-eat basis,
calculated using a value of 15.4 g dry cereal/100 g
prepared cereal (see Section 2), were similar to those in
fruit products (Table 1) and vegetable products (Table
2), but higher than those of ready-to-eat dinner products
(Table 3). The TDF values of cereals varied from 0.29 g/

100 g ready-to-eat for toddler breakfast, rice and corn

cereal with milk and oranges to 1.84 g/100 g ready-to-eat
for barley cereal. When similar products existed from
different brands (rice cereal with apple, rice cereal,
oatmeal cereal, mixed cereal with fruit, mixed cereal
with banana, mixed cereal, barley cereal), a statistical
comparison revealed signicant differences between
cereal products but no differences between brands.
The TDF content of these infant foods allows an
estimation of the potential for infants, less than 1 year of
age, to increase their TDF intake to the Institute of
Medicine recommended average of 19 g/d for children

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63

Table 4
Total dietary bre content of dry cereal products
Product

n Brand g/100 g as is

G/100 g ready-to-eat

SDF/IDF TDF7S.D. TDF range TDF7S.D. TDF range

Barley cereal
Barley cereal
Corn cereal, 35% infant formula, fortied with iron, with mixed vegetables
Infant soy
Mixed cereal
Mixed cereal
Mixed cereal
Mixed cereal with banana
Mixed cereal with fruit
Mixed cereal with fruit
Mixed cereal with fruit
Mixed cereal, 35% infant formula, fortied with iron, with mixed fruit
Oatmeal cereal
Oatmeal cereal
Oatmeal cereal
Oatmeal cereal with banana and apple
Oatmeal cereal, 35% infant formula, fortied with iron
Oatmeal cereal, 35% infant formula, fortied with iron, with apples
Rice cereal
Rice cereal
Rice cereal
Rice cereal with apple
Rice cereal with apple
Rice cereal with banana and vanilla
Rice cereal with bananas
Rice cereal with pear and orange
Rice cereal, 35% infant formula, fortied with iron
Rice cereal, 35% infant formula, fortied with iron, with bananas
Sobee cereal
Toddler breakfast, granulated biscuit with milk, wheat cereal and fruit
Toddler breakfast, milk muesli with fruit and nuts
Toddler breakfast, rice and corn cereal with milk and oranges
Toddler breakfast, rice cereal with yoghurt, apple, banana and milk
Toddler breakfast, rice cereal with yoghurt, milk and fruit
Wheat and rice cereal, 35% infant formula, fortied with iron and 4 fruits
Whole grain rice cereal

5
4
4
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
1
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
1

A
C
D
A
A
C
E
A
A
C
E
D
A
C
E
C
D
D
A
C
E
A
C
A
C
A
D
D
E
D
D
D
D
D
D
B

4.8/2.5
6.2/5.8
1.2/3.5
4.2/3.0
2.9/3.1
2.6/2.7
2.5/2.9
3.4/3.4
3.6/4.0
2.5/3.6
3.3/2.7
1.4/2.4
4.5/3.7
4.2/3.8
4.9/3.8
3.6/3.4
2.3/2.0
2.9/2.4
0.5/2.0
0.8/2.3
0.7/1.7
1.1/2.5
1.2/2.0
1.1/2.9
1.4/3.1
1.1/1.8
0.6/1.4
1.2/1.8
5.7/3.3
2.1/2.7
2.5/3.2
1.0/0.9
1.2/1.7
1.1/1.2
1.9/3.2
0.2/3.2

6.870.5
12.071.3
4.770.2
7.271.0
6.070.1
5.370.5
5.470.2
6.870.5
7.670.3
6.070.7
6.070.5
3.870.1
8.270.6
8.071.1
8.771.0
7.070.5
4.370.6
5.370.2
2.570.5
3.070.2
2.570.2
3.770.1
3.170.5
4.070.5
4.570.5
2.9
2.170.7
3.070.7
9.070.4
4.870.6
5.770.2
1.970.2
2.970.5
2.270.2
5.170.3
3.4

5.77.7
10.313.4
4.55.0
5.88.5
5.86.1
4.65.6
5.05.6
6.37.2
7.38.0
5.06.5
5.26.3
3.63.9
7.48.9
6.89.5
7.910.0
6.67.6
3.64.9
5.15.6
1.93.2
2.83.2
2.22.8
3.63.7
2.53.8
3.44.3
3.94.8
1.42.9
2.43.8
8.59.3
4.05.4
5.56.1
1.62.2
2.33.6
2.02.4
4.65.5

1.070.1
1.870.2
0.770.0
1.170.2
0.970.0
0.870.1
0.870.0
1.070.1
1.270.1
0.970.1
0.970.1
0.670.0
1.370.1
1.270.2
1.370.2
1.170.1
0.770.1
0.870.0
0.470.1
0.570.0
0.470.0
0.670.0
0.570.1
0.670.1
0.770.1
0.5
0.370.1
0.570.1
1.470.1
0.770.1
0.970.0
0.370.0
0.570.1
0.370.0
0.870.1
0.5

0.91.2
1.52.1
0.70.8
0.91.3
0.90.9
0.70.9
0.80.9
1.01.1
1.11.2
0.81.0
0.81.0
0.60.6
1.11.4
1.01.5
1.21.5
1.01.2
0.60.8
0.80.9
0.30.5
0.40.5
0.30.4
0.60.6
0.40.6
0.50.7
0.60.7
0.20.5
0.40.6
1.31.4
0.60.8
0.90.9
0.30.3
0.40.6
0.30.4
0.70.9

SDF/IDF: soluble/insoluble dietary bre; TDF: total dietary bre (mean7S.D.).

n: number of samples analyzed.
ready-to-eat calculated as described in Section 2.

between 1 and 3 years of age (Institute of Medicine, 2002).

While naturally occurring resistant starch was included in
the Institute of Medicine dietary bre recommendation, it
does not represent a major proportion of the dietary bre
in the analysed products presented here. In addition,
resistant starch per se was not considered in establishing
the recommended intake of 14 g TDF/1000 kcal of energy
consumed because the scientic reports used as the basis
for this value estimated TDF intake using methods that
included relatively small amounts of resistant starch
(Rimm et al., 1996; Wolk et al., 1999), or completely
eliminated starch from the analysis (Pietinen et al., 1996).
The World Health Organization (World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, 2001) recom-

mends that infants start receiving complementary foods at

6 months of age in addition to breast milk so that a
considerable increase in DF intake between 6 months and
3 years of age must occur. It is possible to estimate the
difculty in meeting this increase using only the infant
foods measured in Tables 14 and the relative proportion
of energy that comes from infant cereals, meat products,
fruit and juice products and vegetable products as reported
in a recent US survey (USDA, 19941996, 1998). This
survey revealed that American infants consume 4.6 g/d
(median TDF intake, 95th percentage upper and lower
limits of 4.2 and 5 g/d), a value equivalent to that reported
for US children between 2 and 5 years of age with over
twice the energy intake (8.28.9 g/d; Williams, 1995) and to

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the value of 3.371.9 g/d reported for 12 month old Italian

children (Agostoni et al., 1995) but lower than other values
(Stransky et al., 1982; Zachwieja et al., 1995).
The US survey also demonstrated that infants
between the ages of 6 and 12 months obtain about
30% of their energy from infant foods but about 61% of
their TDF intake from these foods (for calculations, see
Mongeau et al., 2001). Using the average TDF values
from each of Tables 14 and maintaining the same
proportion of cereal, fruits and vegetables consumed, it
is possible to calculate that infants must consume
approximately 1 serving (cereals), 0.5 servings (meat),
1.2 (fruits and fruit juices) and 1.4 servings (vegetables)
per day in order to meet currently reported dietary bre
intakes showing that the infant diets can easily provide
TDF intakes close to the lower recommendations of age
+5 g/d. Thus, increasing TDF consumption to 6 g/d
could be achieved by increasing cereal intake to 3
servings/d, fruit intake to 2 servings/d or vegetables to
2.8 servings/d or any combination, thereof (using
average TDF values for each of the categories).
Achieving intakes of 19 g TDF/d would require a
combination of an increased energy intake and/or a
signicant reduction in the proportion of energy obtained
from breast milk or formula. Older children are expected
to have higher energy intakes than younger children and
the median value for children aged 1 to 3 years old is
5740 kJ/d (1372 kcal/d; Institute of Medicine, 2002). This
value is 1.5 times the median value measured for infants
less than 1 year of age (USDA, 19941996, 1998) meaning
that as the child ages, dietary bre intake will increase
simply because of an increase in food consumption.
If food consumption patterns remain the same, the
increased energy intake would mean that infants between
1 and 3 years of age will consume a median of 6.9 g TDF/
d. Thus, changes in the pattern of food choices observed
between 6 and 12 months of age and/or a decrease in the
percentage of energy from milk is required to achieve
recommendations. Any increased intake from solid foods
will have to be balanced with recommendations for
continued frequent, on-demand breastfeeding until 2
years of age or beyond (World Health Organization, Pan
American Health Organization, 2001).
The data from the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA, 19941996, 1998) can be used to estimate changes
in infant diets that would have to occur in order to achieve
the desired dietary bre intake. This survey involved only
non-breast fed infants so the data may be somewhat
different for breast-fed infants. With this in mind, and
maintaining an isoenergetic substitution of formula for
foods with TDF values similar to those reported in Tables
14, one can calculate that a decrease in the percentage of
energy from formula from 51% (actual value) to 10% (the
percentage of energy from solid foods would increase from
18% to 61% of energy) is required to increase total bre
intake to 19.6 g TDF/d. Thus, a combination of reducing

formula consumption to 10% of energy and increasing

energy intake to 5740 kJ/d would be required to provide
recommended intakes of TDF.
These calculations assume similar proportions of
cereals, fruits and vegetable products would be consumed through the rst 3 years of life. Changes in food
sources are expected as starter foods are replaced with
non-baby foods in older children and the contribution
from formula or breast milk decreases. Therefore,
during this change, it is important to replace formula
or breast milk with high bre foods if dietary bre
targets are to be achieved.
Finally, soluble (SDF) and insoluble dietary bre
(IDF) was also measured as part of the TDF methodology. The SDF/IDF ratio varied considerably among
products but was quite consistent when junior and
toddler preparations were compared, although only
three comparisons could be made. Differences were
noted among brands of dry cereal products. For
example the SDF/IDF ratio was 1.9 for Brand A but
only 1.1 for Brand C and mixed cereal with fruit varied
from 0.7 to 1.2 (Brands C and E, respectively). Other
comparisons showed relatively constant ratios.
While not an indication of DF physiological efcacy,
differences in the amount of SDF in a product are a
function of the food as well as processing. This may be
especially true for infant foods, where smooth mouth
feel could play a large role in acceptance of the food.
Processing has been suggested to increase the amount of
SDF and reduce the amount of IDF due to IDF
depolymerization, an effect that would lead to higher
proportions of apparent soluble bre (Acevedo et al.,
1994; Nyman, 1995; Veena et al., 1995).
We attempted to determine if changes in the SDF/IDF
ratio were due to processing by examining the relationship between TDF (expressed as g/100 g dry weight) and
the SDF/IDF ratio. We reasoned that more processing
may be reected by higher SDF/IDF ratios and lower
TDF values. For fruit products and desserts, the
relationship:
SDF/IDF 0.0270.02  TDF+1.07
0.15 explained about 70% of the variance in SDF/IDF
between products but the slope of the relationship was
not signicantly different from zero, meaning that this
effect was not large. In dried cereal products, a relationship that explained approximately 40% of the variance
in the SDF/IDF ratio was obtained: SDF/IDF
ratio 0.1170.02  TDF (g/100 g as is)+0.2970.12.
Although signicant, the small slope suggests a minor
effect. No signicant relationship between TDF and the
SDF/IDF ratio was observed in vegetable products.
Processing was further investigated by comparing the
SDF/IDF ratio in infant foods and those of adult,
commercially available foods when a comparable
product was available (Table 5). For many of these
products (apricots, Bartlett pears, plums, carrots, corn,
green and yellow beans, and oatmeal cereal) the SDF/

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65

Table 5
Soluble dietary bre/insoluble dietary bre ratio in infant and adult foods
Product

Apple sauce, T/J

Apricots, T/J
Peach, T and Jb
Pear Bartlett, T
Plum, T
Carrot, T/J
Corn, T and Jb
Green and yellow beans, T/Jc
Peas, T and Jb
Squash, T/J
Rice cereal (Brands A,C,E)d
Oatmeal cereal (Brands A,C,E)e

SDF/IDF
Anderson and Bridges (1988)

Marlett (1992)

Mongeau et al. (1989)

Mean lit. value

Infant fooda

0.63

0.68
0.27
0.77
0.60
0.15
0.31
0.16
0.60
0.45
1.07

0.38

0.21
0.50
0.30
0.06
0.40
0.08

0.33
0.62

1.02

0.93
0.53
1.29
0.44
0.17
0.50
0.80

0.28
0.95

0.82
0.38
0.80
0.34
0.86
0.45
0.12
0.40
0.35
0.60
0.35
0.88

0.63
1.00
1.05
0.53
1.33
1.00
0.21
0.82
0.38
0.57
0.34
1.29

This paper.
Mean of toddler and junior values.
c
Green beans used as reference.
d
White rice used as literature reference, values represent mean of Brands A, C and E (Table 4).
e
Rolled oats used as literature reference, values represent mean of Brands A, C and E (Table 4).
b

IDF ratio in infant foods was higher than that in the

corresponding adult food (average of the literature
values), although for Bartlett pears and plums, the
highest literature value was similar to that measured for
the corresponding infant food. A two-fold higher SDF/
IDF ratio in infant corn, carrots and green and yellow
beans provided further evidence for a processing effect.
Factors other than processing may play a role in
determining the nal product SDF/IDF ratio. For
example, the inclusion of different plant species (Marlett
and Vollendorf, 1994), different cultivars (Asp et al.,
1992; Gheyas et al., 1996) or harvested material of
different maturity (Kumar et al., 1985) can have a
signicant effect. In addition to general processing
effects, simple effects such as the degree of milling and
differences in peeling and processing of vegetables and
fruits can alter the total TDF content or alter the
distribution between IDF and SDF (Veena et al., 1995).
Thus, some of the differences observed in the present
limited sampling may be due to differences in peeling of
fruits, and sieving of larger particle sizes during
processing.
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