Nutraceutical and Functional Food Processing Technology

For several years, the food industry has been interested inidentifying components in foods which have health benefits to beused in the development of functional food and nutraceuticalproducts. Examples of these ingredients include fibre,phytosterols, peptides, proteins, isoflavones, saponins, phyticacid, probiotics, prebiotics and functional enzymes. Although muchprogress has been made in the identification, extraction andcharacterisation of these ingredients, there remains a need forready and near–market platform technologies for processing theseingredients into marketable value–added functional food andnutraceutical products. This book looks at how these ingredientscan be effectively incorporated into food systems for market, andprovides practical guidelines on how challenges in specific foodsectors (such as health claims and marketing) can be addressedduring processing.

Nutraceutical and Functional Food Processing Technologyis a comprehensive overview of current and emerging trends in theformulation and manufacture of nutraceutical and functional foodproducts. It highlights the distinctions between foods falling intothe nutraceutical and functional food categories. Topics includesustainable and environmentally–friendly approaches to theproduction of health foods, guidelines and regulations, and methodsfor assessing safety and quality of nutraceutical and functionalfood products. Specific applications of nutraceuticals in emulsionand salad dressing food products, beverages and soft drinks, bakedgoods, cereals and extruded products, fermented food products arecovered, as are novel food proteins and peptides, and methods forencapsulated nutraceutical ingredients and packaging. The impact ofprocessing on the bioactivity of nutraceutical ingredients,allergen management and the processing of allergen–free foods,health claims and nutraceutical food product commercialization arealso discussed.

Nutraceutical and Functional Food Processing Technologyis a comprehensive source of practical approaches that can be usedto innovate in the nutraceutical and health food sectors. Fullyup–to–date and relevant across various food sectors, the book willbenefit both academia and industry personnel working in the healthfood and food processing sectors.