Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Improvement of food fat profile by means of advanced lipid systems
Coordinator
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).
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.
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.
Prototyping of new sustainable and healthy products to meet consumer needs in terms of nutritional and functional targets, but also sensory characteristics and convenience, thus increasing adoption in the long term by promoting exploitation of the previous implemented approaches (see WP4.1, WP4.2) to develop new pilot food products (food design) also in connection with start-up acceleration programmes (activities are also in connection with Spoke 3).
Development or implementation of at least two reformulated food products for each food category relevant for the impact on general and at-risk groups (M36)
Evaluation of the bioavailability and bioactivity of at least two components of foods proven to directly impact human health (M36)
Elucidation of the interaction between the selected foods (and benchmarks) and the intestinal milieu (M30)
Quality by design: innovation in food design concept to be applied to different benchmark products (n=4 prototypes) (M24)
High amounts of fat or trans and saturated fatty acids in the diet represent a major concern for human health. An interesting approach to reformulate food products in view of fat reduction involves the use of advanced emulsions (e.g. multiple, Pickering, gel emulsions). A better fat profile can be obtained by applying oleogels, able to structure liquid oils for the improvement of their technological features. Moreover, the use of these advanced lipid systems can also be exploited for delivering biocompounds with interesting technological and nutritional properties (e.g., antioxidants and vitamins), while protecting them during food processing and storage, as well as during digestion.
In this context, the aims of this project will be:
The project will be developed according to the following steps:
Relevant and beneficial results for the scientific community and food industries are expected from this project:
