Reformulation or improvement of relevant food products in the national context in order to: a) implement the nutritional characteristics also by reducing antinutrients or using bioprocessed ingredients (from raw products to ingredients) and limit the use of undesirable components (e.g. by using bioactives) along the food system b) improve food formulation and composition based on consumer perception and needs identified for specific target groups (in connection with Spoke 5 and 6) c) promote clear and ad hoc labelling as an information tool (in connection with Spoke 1 and 7) to increase the willingness to buy improved foods d) guarantee safety and affordability of new products (in connection with Spoke 1 and 3).

Task 4.2.1.

Development and application of advanced analytical procedures to assess the quality of relevant food product categories in the national context and corresponding analogues implemented according to task 4.1.1 and 4.1.2

Task 4.3.2.

Identification of nutrient and non-nutrient food components (and their metabolic products) potentially involved in the promotion of consumer health, and evaluation of their bio accessibility, bioavailability, and effect on the gut microbiota, using in silico, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo approaches on humans/animals to confirm the actual absorption and bioactivity of non-nutrient components also considering specific dietary patterns and target groups.

Task 4.3.3.

Evaluation of food-human interactions following the events occurring in the gastrointestinal milieu by both in vitro and in vivo approaches and elucidation of the impact of new foods and corresponding benchmarks.

Project deliverables

D4.1.1.3.

Pilot application of at least two new food labels promoting health and sustainability to increase the adherence to a healthy dietary pattern and encouraging producers to make healthier and more sustainable food products (M24)

D4.1.1.4.

Definition of quality indicators and sensory properties to be included in the label to standardise authenticity and quality (M30)

D4.2.1.1.

Development of at least five novel foodomic methods to implement nutritional characterization of foods (M28)

D4.3.2.2.

Evaluation of the bioavailability and bioactivity of at least two components of foods proven to directly impact human health (M36)

D4.3.3.1.

Elucidation of the interaction between the selected foods (and benchmarks) and the intestinal milieu (M30)

State of the art

Currently, the evaluation of the nutritional value of foods is based on their chemical composition. This is in contrast with the awareness that food components (nutrients and bioactives) must be released from the food matrix and possibly hydrolysed into smaller molecules to become bioaccessible, i.e. potentially taken up by enterocytes, thus exerting a physiological activity within the human body. There is already a consensus method for evaluating the chemical processes that occur during digestion in vitro, but it is limited to the evaluation of the hydrolytic activity of salivary, gastric and pancreatic enzymes and does not include the second part of duodenal digestion. Furthermore, "ad hoc" detection methodologies are needed to evaluate the concentration of nutrients/bioactives in foods before and after digestion, in the digested and in the undigested fraction.

Operation plan

Starting from the INFOGEST consensus protocol (Minekus et al., Food Funct 2014) for in vitro digestion, a new protocol (ONFOODS protocol) will be developed including the second part of duodenal digestion, with particular reference to carbohydrates and proteins. The protocol will be tested on foods with different chemical and structural characteristics and the results will be compared. Meanwhile, different extraction and detection methods will be tested to evaluate the concentration of fatty acids, peptides/amino acids and monosaccharides in the digested and undigested fractions. The results will be compared with bioavailability data retrieved from a systematic review of clinical trials in the literature.

Expected results

The use of the new ONFOODS protocol to evaluate the bioaccessibility of food components and the overall digestibility of the food product will represent a step forward in the evaluation of nutritional value. It will surpass the current assessment based on chemical composition and provide insight into the bioaccessible components that may actually have an effect, positive or negative, within the body. For example, it will be possible to detect the release of glucose and/or bioactive peptides. Similarly, it will be possible to evaluate the changes in bioaccessibility linked to a different formulation and/or processing of specific food products. Results obtained could be used to inform consumers, also including them in the food label.