Research project
24 | monthsIMPROVED FAT

Improvement of food fat profile by means of advanced lipid systems

Related toSpoke 04

Principal investigators
Cristina Alamprese

Other partecipantsEleonora Loffredi
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Project partners

Task involved

Task 4.1.1.

Reformulation or improvement of relevant food products in the national context in order to: a) implement the nutritional characteristics also by reducing antinutrients or using bioprocessed ingredients (from raw products to ingredients) and limit the use of undesirable components (e.g. by using bioactives) along the food system b) improve food formulation and composition based on consumer perception and needs identified for specific target groups (in connection with Spoke 5 and 6) c) promote clear and ad hoc labelling as an information tool (in connection with Spoke 1 and 7) to increase the willingness to buy improved foods d) guarantee safety and affordability of new products (in connection with Spoke 1 and 3).

Task 4.3.2.

Identification of nutrient and non-nutrient food components (and their metabolic products) potentially involved in the promotion of consumer health, and evaluation of their bio accessibility, bioavailability, and effect on the gut microbiota, using in silico, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo approaches on humans/animals to confirm the actual absorption and bioactivity of non-nutrient components also considering specific dietary patterns and target groups.

Task 4.3.3.

Evaluation of food-human interactions following the events occurring in the gastrointestinal milieu by both in vitro and in vivo approaches and elucidation of the impact of new foods and corresponding benchmarks.

Task 4.4.1.

Prototyping of new sustainable and healthy products to meet consumer needs in terms of nutritional and functional targets, but also sensory characteristics and convenience, thus increasing adoption in the long term by promoting exploitation of the previous implemented approaches (see WP4.1, WP4.2) to develop new pilot food products (food design) also in connection with start-up acceleration programmes (activities are also in connection with Spoke 3).

Project deliverables

D4.1.1.2.

Development or implementation of at least two reformulated food products for each food category relevant for the impact on general and at-risk groups (M36)

D4.3.2.2.

Evaluation of the bioavailability and bioactivity of at least two components of foods proven to directly impact human health (M36)

D4.3.3.1.

Elucidation of the interaction between the selected foods (and benchmarks) and the intestinal milieu (M30)

D4.4.1.2.

Quality by design: innovation in food design concept to be applied to different benchmark products (n=4 prototypes) (M24)

State of the art

High amounts of fat or trans and saturated fatty acids in the diet represent a major concern for human health. An interesting approach to reformulate food products in view of fat reduction involves the use of advanced emulsions (e.g. multiple, Pickering, gel emulsions). A better fat profile can be obtained by applying oleogels, able to structure liquid oils for the improvement of their technological features. Moreover, the use of these advanced lipid systems can also be exploited for delivering biocompounds with interesting technological and nutritional properties (e.g., antioxidants and vitamins), while protecting them during food processing and storage, as well as during digestion.
In this context, the aims of this project will be:

  • Development of optimization of advanced lipid systems to be used also as biocompound carriers.
  • Reformulation of food products with improved fat content/profile.
  • Evaluation of digestibility of reformulated foods by in vitro test.

Operation plan

The project will be developed according to the following steps:

  • Study of different advanced lipid systems and their suitability as biocompound carriers. 
  • Reformulation of food products replacing fat with the advanced lipid systems. Design of Experiment techniques (DoE) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) will be applied for recipes’ optimization. Each product will be analyzed for quality attributes and nutritional properties. The substitution of fat is indeed a critical factor for the development of the right structure and the quality characteristics of the final products.
  • Evaluation of digestibility of reformulated foods. Digestibility of the optimized reformulated foods and the effect of food structure on the release of bioactive compounds will be evaluated according to the INFOGEST protocol.

Expected results

Relevant and beneficial results for the scientific community and food industries are expected from this project: 

  • Deep knowledge about the effect of formulation and/or production technology on the performances of the advanced lipid systems.
  • Optimization of lipid systems in view of their use in real foods and as carrier systems.
  • Reformulation and optimization of food products with a better fat profile.
  • Comprehensive understanding of the influence of the advanced lipid systems on the structure of foods and their quality characteristics.
  • Knowledge of the fate of the advanced lipid systems and encapsulated bioactive compounds during digestion of the reformulated products.