designing and obtaining healthy products from fruit

What We Do

The changes that have occurred in consumers’ eating habits in Spain reflect a decrease in fruit consumption which is a public health problem as the consumption of transformed products with a high saturated fat, simple sugar and salt content has increased. This has given rise to consumers concerned about healthier eating demanding products that are not only safe, but also beneficial to their health.

Transformed products based on fruits with nutritional and healthy characteristics have been developed through preliminary work carried out by the partners to meet today’s consumer needs. This project aims to make progress in the development of high added value fruit-based transformed products. Thus, the work will be done in two ways:

• Obtaining dehydrated products as an alternative to the existing snack product line on the market.
• Producing fruit and/or nut-based beverages.

Who Participates

Coordinated by: CICYTEX
Participating partners: CICYTEX, CATAA, IPBeja and IPCB
Collaboration from: AFRUEX, EXAASA, Acopaex S.Coop., Oli-Aloe, Torrealta S.C.L., Grupo AlbaIntSll, Frutas Biomova S.L.U., SOPRODEVAJE, Alfonso Cruz S.L., Potentaroma Ida, Ibergranatum SL, Associação de Beneficiarios do Roxo, Simoes, Vieira & Pereira -Indústria Alimentar, Lda., HerdadedeMoncorvo, Monte da Raposinha, CEVRM – Centro de Excelência para a Valorização dos Recursos Mediterrânicos, S.A., Hortas de Idanha, Red Blue Iberia, Rotas do Lince.

How We Do It

The design of dehydrated products obtained from fruit consists of:

• Characterising raw materials in terms of physical/chemical quality (total soluble solids, pH, acidity, colour, firmness, moisture) and nutritional and functional quality (carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, fibre, ascorbic acid, antioxidants, phenols and pigments). The raw materials will be selected in advance by the project participants.
• The optimisation of technological processes. The dehydration process phases will be adjusted considering the raw materials as well as the drying process. To this end, parameters will be optimised such as: temperature, the osmotic agent concentration, fruit/osmotic agent ratio, immersion time (for osmotic dehydration as the preliminary phase), temperature, speed and drying time.
• The characterisation of finished products. Once the various process phases have been optimised, a baseline group will be created for each product for a complete physical/chemical, functional, nutritional (proteins, carbohydrates, fat, minerals), microbiological (based on the applicable regulations for each type of finished product) and sensorial study.
• A study of the useful life of the product to determine its shelf life.

The design of beverages obtained from fruits and/or nuts is implemented through the following activities:

• The characterisation of raw materials from a physical/chemical, nutritional and functional perspective. The raw materials will be selected in advance by the project participants.
• The optimisation of formulas for different beverages as well as technological processing phases.
• The characterisation of finished products. Once the various process phases have been optimised, a baseline group will be created for each product for a complete physical/chemical, nutritional (proteins, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, salt), microbiological (based on the applicable regulations for each type of finished product) and sensorial study. Likewise, a baseline group will be created which will be subjected to pasteurisation for use as the control treatment.
• A study of the useful life of the product to determine its shelf life.

Contacts

Activity Coordinator: Patricia Calvo Magro (CICYTEX) | patricia.calvo@juntaex.es