Development of fortified blended food and the effect of selected parameters on its composition and functionality

Fortified Blended Food (FBF) is a category of ‘specialized nutritious food’ supplied by the World Food Programme (WFP) to reduce the risk of malnutrition in food-insecure regions. Super cereal plus (SCP) is a FBF prepared by dry blending heat-treated, dehulled cereal (wheat, corn or rice), dehulled beans, skim milk powder, sugar, soya bean oil, vitamin/mineral mix, dicalcium phosphate and potassium chloride. FBF is reconstituted and cooked to a porridge or soup prior to consumption. The consistency of the porridge is likely to affect satiety and the quantity consumed. The overall aim of this thesis was to develop a new process for manufacturing of novel FBF using fermented milk (FM) and parboiled wheat (PW), and to optimise the nutritional and consistency attributes of FBF by altering the formulation and manufacturing process. A different approach to that used in the manufcature SCP was taken in the formulation of the FBF with a view to improving the nutritional value. The process included the use of a higher proportion of milk solids (37%, w/w), parboiling the dehulled cereal (wheat, barley or oats), the use of fermented milk instead of non-fat milk solids, wet blending the fermented milk with the parboiled cereal, and co-fermentation of the fermented milk-parboiled cereal blend for 24 h prior to drying to obtain as a base powder, which was then fortified with vitamins and minerals. Key factors affecting the composition, nutrient value and the consistency/viscosity characteristics of the FBFs have been identified: fermented milk-to-cereal ratio, cereal type, co-fermentation time, and storage conditions. Altering the ratio of FM to PW from 1.5:1 to 4:1, resulted in higher contents of protein, lactose, fat, Ca, Zn, P, vitamins A and E, lower contents of phytic acid, beta-glucan, starch and lower viscosity after reconstitution and cooking. The cereal type (oats, wheat or barley) used in preparation of FBF base (FBFB) significantly affected composition and reconstitution properties, with FBFB prepared from oats (FBFBo) having higher fat, starch, lower amylose, and higher water holding, pasting viscosities and flow properties on reconstitution in comparison to FBFB prepared from wheat (FBFBw) and barley (FBFBb). Increasing the fermentation time from 0 to 72 h reduced the quantity of phytic acid and lactose, and the viscosity during, and after, cooking of the reconstituted FBFB. Following fortification of FBFB powders with vitamin/mineral mixture and soya oil, it was observed that the level of protein, fat, Ca, Fe, Zn, was within the range reported by WFP for Super cereal plus corn soya blend (SCpCSB). The FBF powders were quite stable on storage at 15°C for up to 18 months; conversely, storage at 30 or 37°C lead to deterioration in colour, and reconstitution behaviour of the FBFs to an extent which depended on storage time and cereal type. FBFs would be ideally stored at 15°C to minimize changes in quality during the prescribed storage period. Overall, the work reported in this thesis generated new knowledge in developing a novel innovative food product by altering various formulation and processing parameters. This product combines the nutritive and technofunctional properties of two major food groups, cereal and dairy.

Grantor dc:publisher

University College Cork

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Shevade, Ashwini V.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• O'Brien, Nora M.
• O'Connor, Thomas P.

• Rheology
• Pasting viscosities
• Consistency
• Storage study
• Dairy-cereal blends
• Composition
• Nutrition
• Reconstitution
• Fortified blended foods oats
• Fortified blended foods wheat
• Fortified blended foods barley

Statement dc:rights

• © 2020, Ashwini V. Shevade.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10468/10111

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cora.ucc.ie:10468/10111