GOS Working Group Meeting Book (November 29, 2017)

Analyte Definition (Fructans)

• Description of the analyte: Fructans including oligofructose, fructooligosaccharides and inulin .

• Rationale: Fructans are added to formula and adult nutritionals as a source of fibre / prebiotics to bring associated health benefits and as such levels are labeled and controlled. The fructans used in the food industry are of the inulin type and may be extracted from plant material or synthesized from sucrose via trans-glycosylation. Extracted inulin may be partially hydrolyzed leading to the formation of Fm type chains. The fructans are available with varying chain lengths (from 2 monosaccharide residues to over 60). • Implications: Candidate methods must be able to fully account for both types of fructan (GFn and Fm) whatever the average chain length in the presence of potentially interfering substances such as free monosaccharides, sucrose, etc.

Specific Performance Claims

Analytical Range: 0.03 – 5.0 g/100g * Limit of Quantitation (LOQ): ≤ 0.03 g/100g *

Recovery: 90 - 110% Repeatability : (RSDr) ≤ 6% Reproducibility : (RSDR) ≤ 12%

* g/100g in reconstituted final product: - Ready to feed liquids “as-is” - Reconstituted powders (25 g into 200 g water) - Liquid concentrates diluted 1:1 by weight