Introduction
Functional Ingredients are those substances that enhance the functional properties of the food. These properties are ingredient attributes that provide a benefit during food preparation. These attributes include how an ingredient looks, tastes, and feels. It also contributes to a product’s structure, quality, texture, and nutritional value. Hence, these ingredients can help to enhance the acceptability and demand of particular food items, revolutionizing food processing.
Functional Ingredients: Rocketing Food’s Acceptability and Palatability
These ingredients can help to enhance food’s acceptability by catering to specific needs of structure, quality, texture, and nutritional value. It also helps to improve the stability of the process and food preparation.
Texture Improvement
Some food ingredients do not behave as the food scientists assume. Dairy products such as heavy cream, cheese, and other fresh dairy ingredients are desirable for their creamy mouthfeel and texture in soups and sauces. However, the attainment of this texture is difficult. Fresh dairy can coagulate without proper pH controls or with the addition of enzymes. Hence, functional ingredients are used. Incorporation of commodity powdered whey ingredients can sometimes result in clumping. It also helps in improving moisture retention and helps to eliminate clumping. Similarly, other whey proteins may provide a crunchy texture, as in whey protein crisps. Some of the functional ingredients help to improve the juicy texture of meat applications by helping to retain fat and moisture.
Process Stability Improvement
Some of the production processes can diminish the product quality. For example, the application of high shear and heat on food can either improve a product or diminish a formulation’s quality. Heat can sometimes lead to poor textures. Functional ingredients help in maintaining a food product’s structure under varying conditions and the application of heat. These ingredients can yield good results under various pH levels. Further, it can reduce syneresis (the contraction of a gel accompanied by the separating out of liquid) in creamy applications.
Assisting Food Preparation
There is a common phenomenon called ‘Blowout’ experienced in the food industry. The final cooking process for items like cheese-filled poppers can result in ruptured fillings bursting through a pastry pocket. It also leads to other textural problems. The use of functional ingredients such as functional whey proteins can help to maintain a product’s structure in varying temperatures. It includes preparation of food in a deep fryer or during freeze/thaw cycles. It helps to minimize blowouts in finished products.
Enhancing Flavor
Functional ingredients help to enhance food flavor by introducing specific taste compounds that can add sweetness, umami, acidity, or other desired flavor profiles to a food. These ingredients help to enhance the flavor of food products. For Example, Functional whey proteins help to maintain a clean flavor profile and don’t introduce bitter, off flavors. Those ingredients often require masking agents and reduce a product’s ability to be categorized as a clean label.
Sensory Attributes
Food items are characterized by sensory attributes such as appearance and aroma also contribute to their appeal. These ingredients directly impact the food’s taste, texture, aroma, and appearance. These ingredients add specific flavors, modify mouthfeel, provide natural colors, or bind to unwanted aromas. For example, Ingredients such as mushrooms, seaweed extract, or certain amino acids can add a savory “umami” flavor. Natural sweeteners such as stevia can help to add sweetness without the same calorie density as sugar.
Shelf Life Improvement
Functional ingredients help improve the shelf life of the food ingredients by maintaining a food product’s structure, texture, and quality amid varying temperature and storage conditions. It helps in preventing spoilage caused by factors like oxidation, moisture loss, or microbial growth, effectively extending its shelf life. It is often achieved through their antioxidant properties, ability to regulate pH levels, or by acting as natural preservatives. For Example, functional ingredients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and certain plant extracts act as antioxidants, preventing the breakdown of fats and oils in food, which can lead to rancidity and flavor deterioration. Similarly, Emulsifiers like lecithin help in maintaining a stable emulsion in products like dressings or sauces, preventing separation and improving shelf life.
Improved Nutrition
Functional ingredients can add nutritional qualities by providing health benefits beyond basic nutrition. It includes bioactive compounds such as antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. These compounds help to prevent chronic diseases, improve specific bodily functions, and enhance overall wellness when incorporated into food products. For Example, polyphenols found in berries, omega-3 fatty acids in fish, or probiotics in yogurt, can help to inculcate physiological effects on the body.
Conclusion: Need for R&D On Functional Ingredients
There are multiple advantages of the Functional ingredients which makes it a vital part of the food processing industry. It can be labeled as the ‘Presenter’ of the food adding all the aesthetic as well as nutritional properties to the food. Hence, the food processing industries must focus on the R&D of such ingredients to enhance the market presence of various food items.