TITLE:
Impact of High Pressure Homogenization (HPH) Treatment on the Nutritional Quality of Egg/Yogurt, Vegetable and Fruit Based Creams
AUTHORS:
Mattia Di Nunzio, Lucia Vannini, Nadia Tossani, Francesca Patrignani, Rosalba Lanciotti, Alessandra Bordoni
KEYWORDS:
High Pressure Homogenization; Nutritional Quality
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.5 No.1,
January
7,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The food industry has made large investments in
processing facilities relying mostly on conventional thermal processing
technologies with well-established reliability and efficacy. These techniques
have important disadvantages such
as off flavors, destruction of nutrients, and other losses of product quality.
Non thermal processing is a key factor for preserving or improving the
nutritional value of food, and high pressure homogenization (HPH) processing is
now a celebrated option experiencing worldwide commercial growth.
Notwithstanding, little is known on the impact of HPH treatments on the
nutritional value of food. In this study we have evaluated the possible
modification induced by HPH treatment in egg-yogurt, mixed vegetable, and mixed
fruit creams. Our results evidence that HPH does not affect the nutritional
quality of lipids and does not cause lipolysis, lipid peroxidation and vitamin E loss. In plant food
products, HPH preserved or improved the nutritional quality, suggesting its use as valid alternative to thermal
pasteurization for obtaining high quality products with preserved nutritional
characteristics. Although further investigations are needed, especially at
extreme pressure and temperature
combinations, our results open new perspectives for the production of ambient
stable products with good nutritional value, and contribute to process
optimization.