Phenolic‐Associated Dietary Fiber Ingredients From Agro‐Industrial Residues: Processing‐Dependent Identity and Food‐Grade Translation

Agro‐industrial residues can supply dietary fiber together with extractable or cell‐wall‐associated phenolics, but coexistence does not establish phenolic‐bound dietary fiber (PBDF). This structured narrative review evaluates 95 peer‐reviewed articles published from 1993 to 2026 and four official regulatory sources across ingredient identity, processing, food functionality, biological evidence, safety, and regulation. It proposes operational terms for phenolic‐rich, phenolic‐associated, phenolic‐bound, processing‐modified, and food‐system phenolic–fiber states as a working, not regulatory, framework. Processing is treated as a sequence from stabilization and fiber extraction through matrix modification, food manufacture, and storage. Concentration, extractability, release, redistribution, and degradation are distinguished from true retention, which requires common‐basis mass balance across recovered streams. Food studies indicate combined fiber and phenolic value, although texture, color, bitterness, astringency, and stability often limit inclusion. Incremental advantage over conventional fiber remains uncertain because phenolic‐depleted matched controls and equal‐dose free‐phenolic controls are uncommon. Bioaccessibility, bioavailability, metabolism, and physiological activity are separated as successive evidence domains. Translation requires source and process specifications, contaminant and exposure assessment, regulatory evaluation, and final‐food validation. The field should move toward processing‐aware identity, quantitative phenolic fate, claim‐matched comparators, and food‐grade evidence.