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Fibre: the daily reference intake
EFSA sets an adequate intake of 25 grams of dietary fibre a day for adults, based on bowel function. Most European adults eat well under it, and fibre is one of the few nutrients where the gap between the reference value and the average diet is large enough to matter.
These are published population reference values, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. A reference intake describes what covers a healthy group; it cannot tell you your own status, and no page can. Pregnancy, chronic illness, medicines and malabsorption all change the picture — take those questions to a doctor, midwife, pharmacist or dietitian.
Fibre by age, sex and life stage
For children over one year EFSA expresses the adequate intake as 2 g of fibre per megajoule of energy intake rather than as a flat number of grams, so a child figure depends on how much the child eats.
| Group | Reference value | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men 19-50 | 25 g | AI | |
| Women 19-50 | 25 g | AI | |
| Men 51 and over | 25 g | AI | |
| Women 51 and over | 25 g | AI | |
| Adults 65 and over | 25 g | AI | |
| Pregnancy | 25 g | AI | no increase over the adult value |
| Breastfeeding | 25 g | AI | no increase over the adult value |
Why 25 g, and what it is based on
EFSA classed fibre as an Adequate Intake rather than a Population Reference Intake because there is no single measurable requirement to average. The 25 g figure comes from evidence on normal laxation — bowel function — in adults. Higher intakes are associated in observational studies with lower rates of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes, which EFSA noted but did not use to set a higher number.
That distinction matters when you read a headline claiming a "recommended" 30 or 38 g. Those are other bodies working from other endpoints. The EU reference value is 25 g.
Fibre is the nutrient with no label percentage
Annex XIII of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists reference intakes for energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt — and for a long list of vitamins and minerals. Fibre is not on either list. So a European pack can declare how many grams of fibre it contains, but it cannot print a "% RI" for it, because there is no legal reference number to divide by. If you see a fibre percentage on a label, it is the manufacturer own choice of denominator.
Where the 25 g actually comes from in a Nordic or Baltic diet
Wholegrain rye is the single most efficient carrier here: dense, everyday, and unusually high in fibre for a staple. Rolled oats, barley, root vegetables, cabbage, peas, beans and lentils, berries and nuts do the rest. The food table below shows what one ordinary portion of each contributes against the 25 g figure.
Two habits close most of the gap: replacing white bread with wholegrain rye, and putting a legume portion into two or three meals a week. Neither requires a supplement.
The upper level
No upper level has been set for dietary fibre. A large, sudden increase commonly causes bloating and wind; raising intake over a few weeks and drinking enough fluid is the usual advice.
Ordinary food against the 25 g adult adequate intake
Top of this list: Lentils, 14.2 g in a 180 g serving (a portion, cooked) — 57% of the 25 g adult adequate intake. It would take about 2 of those to cover a full day from that one food, which is why a real diet spreads it across several rows.
| Food | Ordinary portion | Per portion | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lentils | a portion, cooked, 180 g | 14.2 g | 57% |
| Black beans | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 13.1 g | 52% |
| Chickpeas | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 11.4 g | 46% |
| Soybeans | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 9 g | 36% |
| Whole-wheat pasta | a portion, cooked, 200 g | 7.8 g | 31% |
| Barley | a portion, cooked, 180 g | 6.84 g | 27% |
| Avocado | half an avocado, 100 g | 6.7 g | 27% |
| Wheat bran | 2 tbsp, 15 g | 6.42 g | 26% |
| Green peas | a portion, 100 g | 5.7 g | 23% |
| Oats | 50 g dry, 50 g | 5.3 g | 21% |
| Chia seeds | 1 tbsp, 15 g | 5.16 g | 21% |
| Sweet potato | a medium one, 150 g | 4.95 g | 20% |
Portion sizes are ordinary household servings chosen for this table, not official reference portions, and the shortlist is an editorial one: everyday foods eaten in this region rather than the highest per-100 g entries in the database. A raw per-100 g ranking would be topped by dried herbs, drink powders and fortified breakfast cereals, which answers a different question. The composition data is American, so where US fortification practice differs from European practice the row carries a dagger and the reason. For the full per-100 g ranking of a nutrient, the food-data section of this site publishes one.
Sources: EFSA Dietary Reference Values · Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII · USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (food composition) · EFSA scientific opinion on dietary reference values for carbohydrates and dietary fibre (2010) · Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII · checked 2026-09-06
Frequently asked questions
How much fibre a day?
EFSA adequate intake for adults is 25 g a day. There is no separate value for pregnancy, breastfeeding or older age.
Why is there no % reference intake for fibre on packets?
Because Annex XIII of EU Regulation 1169/2011, which sets the reference intakes labels must use, does not include fibre. Grams can be declared; a percentage cannot be a legal one.
Do children need 25 g too?
No. For children over one year EFSA expresses the adequate intake as 2 g per megajoule of energy eaten, so it scales with how much food the child needs.
See your own numbers, not the population average
TempoLife logs what you eat and adds it up, so you can compare a real week against the reference intake on this page instead of guessing.