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.
Product and process innovation of cereal-based products
Highlights
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).
Innovation of food (bio)processing using smart and mild technologies and fermentation to improve nutritional quality while ensuring safety and environmental sustainability throughout the shelf life of foods. Nutritional quality and biodiversity are targeted through both advanced and sustainable processes (including encapsulation) to preserve and improve at-risk (micro)nutrient composition of relevant food categories and exploiting microbiological and biotechnological applications to impact on nutritional quality. Such (bio)technological approaches (e.g., fermentation, enzyme treatments, etc.) are validated by process markers also directed to ensure food production safety and quality targeting new food habits (e.g., ready to eat food and novel food consumption) and sustainability, promoting production efficiency and utilisation of alternative sources (in connection with Spoke 2 and 3).
Selection of raw materials/ingredients with improved nutritional characteristics and limited undesirable components (M12)
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)
Systematic review of biotechnological approaches to enhance functionality of different food products within the relevant food categories and possible constraints (M12)
Development or improvement of at least 3 technological approaches to innovate food production (including cooking and shelf life) in terms of nutritional quality, safety, and sustainability (M24)
Development or improvement of at least 3 biotechnological approaches to innovate food production in terms of nutritional quality, safety, and sustainability (M30)
In a scenario of demographic and climatic changes and of decrease of arable lands and water resources, the valorization of “alternative” crops (including minor cereals, pseudocereals and legumes) in the food systems should be encouraged to allow the transition to a sustainable food production. The achievement of this goal also passes through the exploitation of the by-products of grain transformation as ingredients in food products. However, the use of crops other than wheat (or their fractions) in food formulations is limited due to various aspects, including the sensory traits, that compromise consumers’ acceptability, and the structural properties of their main components (starch, protein, and fiber) that negatively influence their transformability into widely used food products, including pasta, baked goods, and snacks.
Some technological and biotechnological processes will be set up and applied to grains (e.g., pseudocereals and pulses) or their fractions (e.g., bran) to solve the technological issues described above. The suitability of various processes - physical (e.g., air-classification and/or thermal treatments), mechanical (e.g., extrusion and/or dry-fractionation) and biotechnological (e.g., sprouting and/or enzymatic treatments) - will be explored on grains.
Such processes will be proposed with the aim of:
The development of food products (i.e., pasta, baked good or snacks) enriched in underutilized crops or their fractions will also consider the study of the impact of the above-mentioned processes on the functional properties of flours and on the rheological properties of the related doughs.
This activity will allow to:
