Food Product Enhancement or Enrichment

• Body performs several functions related to growth and development

and it has to cope up with the normal wear and tear process.

• Several nutrients are required for promoting these activities which

should be available in sufficient quantity. But no single food contains
all the nutrients; their nature and quantity vary with the source.
• Improper diet may result in a deficiency of one or more of these
nutrients.

• Nutritional deficiencies reduce the mental and physical efficiency of

people and increase their susceptibility to diseases.
Nutritional Requirements of Body
• Human body requires at least 45 nutrients

• 5 macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrate, water and oxygen)

• 40 micronutrients, which include 13 vitamins (A, C, D, E, K and eight

members of vitamin B group) and 17 minerals (Ca, Cl, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P,
and S whose requirements are 1 μg to 1 g per day, and Cr, Co, Cu, F, I,
Mn, Mo, Se, and Zn which are required in traces).
• Water and oxygen are not regarded as nutrients because they are
present in foods and readily available for body use.

• Nutrient requirements vary from person to person and are influenced

by factors like age, sex, height, physiological state, physical activity
and environmental conditions.
• Food fortification is the process of adding micronutrients (essential
trace elements and vitamins) to food.

• It may be a purely commercial choice to provide extra nutrients in a

food, while other times it is a public health policy which aims to
reduce the number of people with dietary deficiencies within a
population.
• Typically, food fortification is performed to:
• Restore nutrients lost during food processing to a level approximately equal to
the food’s natural content; this is also referred to as enrichment.

• Add nutrients that may not be present in, or contained at a lower level,
naturally in the food; this is typically referred to as fortification.

• Standardize the nutrient content present in variable concentrations in a food

product.
• Enrichment: This term is used for a process in which the level of one
or more nutrients, already present in a food, is moderately
increased by addition to make its level higher so that it becomes a
richer source of that nutrient.
• Nutrification: It is a general term used to indicate the practice of adding
vitamins and minerals to compounded and processed foods used as entire
meals or meal-replacers, viz., infant formulas, instant breakfast foods etc.

• Restoration: Loss of some of the nutrients takes place during handling,

transport, processing and storage of foods which can not be prevented.
Restoration refers to the replacement of the nutrients lost during the above
processes.
• Standardization: There may be natural or seasonal variations in the
nutrient composition of foods. The term standardization refers to the
process of adding nutrients to compensate for the above variations and
bring them to a predetermined level. It is helpful in meeting the
requirements of nutritional labelling.

• Supplementation: This term refers to the process in which nutrients not

present normally or contained only in very small quantities in a food, are
added to it.
 Some technical considerations of food
fortification
• The fortification levels required for particular food should be accurately

calculated.

• There should be minimum loss of the nutrient during processing,

storage, and final preparation of the food.

• There should be no change in taste, appearance, or color of the final product.

• Correct identification of the group of people that require the fortified food

• The food should be affordable so that the low-income groups, which are more

vulnerable to malnutrition, consume it.

• The four different food fortifications.

1) Bio-fortification (i.e. breeding crops to increase their nutritional value, which can
include both conventional selective breeding, and modern genetic modification)

2) Synthetic fortification (i.e. addition of pro-biotic bacteria to foods)

3) Commercial and industrial fortification (i.e. flour, rice, oils)

4) Home fortification (e.g. vitamin D drops) Some examples of food fortification are
Iodized Salts, Folic Acid, Niacin, Vitamin D, Fluoride, Golden Rice, White Rice, etc.
Methods of fortification
• Methods used for food fortification with nutrients are as follows:
i) Dry mixing: It is used for foods like salt, beverage powders, cereal
products, milk powder, etc.

ii) Dissolution in water: The nutrients are dissolved in water or the

product and mixed, e.g., fruit juices, beverages, drinks, etc.

iii) Spraying: Processed foods that require cooking or extrusion like

potato chips, fruit bars, etc.
iv) Dissolution in oil: Oily products such as vanaspati are enriched by nutrients
dissolved in oil.

v) Adhesion: It is used for sugar fortification. Vitamin A in powder form is

adhered onto the surface of the sugar crystals when used with a vegetable oil.

vi) Coating: The vitamins sprayed over the grain must be coated to avoid losses
when they are washed before cooking. It is generally used in case of rice.

vii) Pelleting: It is also used for rice. The vitamins are incorporated into pellets
reconstituted from broken kernels.
Common Fortified Foods
• Breakfast cereals
• Bread
• Eggs
• Fruit juice
• Soy milk and other milk alternatives
• Milk / milk powder
• Yogurt
• Salt
Nutrients added to fortified foods
• Folic acid
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12
• Calcium
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Iron
• Iodine
• Probiotic and prebiotic bacteria

An enriched food is a food to which nutrients have been added.

• As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), fortification refers to
"the practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential
micronutrients in a food irrespective of whether the nutrients were
originally in the food before processing or not, so as to improve the
nutritional quality of the food supply and to provide a public health benefit
with minimal risk to health.”
 Effect of processing on the stability of added
nutrients
• The stability of nutrients is affected by many chemical and physical factors. Consequently,
processing parameters must be selected and controlled during the processing of fortified
food to minimize nutrient losses.

• Minerals (iron and iodine) are very stable compared to vitamins, under extreme processing
conditions.

• The primary mechanism of the loss of minerals is through the leaching of water-soluble
materials.
• As an example:
• Vitamin A, on the other hand, is very labile in the processing environment.

• Vitamin A is both oxygen and temperature sensitive.

• Vitamin A (and also b-carotene) added to foods is sensitive to oxidative damage.

• The stability of vitamin A is also strongly affected by pH. At a pH of less than 5,

vitamin A is susceptible to oxidation.
 Advantages of Fortification
• Help to fulfill the dietary intake of the particular nutrient

• Safe, quick, and cheap method of ensuring the availability of a nutrient

• Intake is worth for specific groups in the population (Older/ children/

pregnant women)

• Can overcome the nutritional deficiency diseases

 Limitations of Food Fortification
• Overdosing on nutrients may occur if fortified meals are eaten alongside
unprocessed foods.

• Compared to whole foods, fortified foods have more calories. As a result,

processed fortified foods can cause binge eating and cause to obesity.
Future of food fortification
• Food fortification and enrichment are nutritional intervention programs
with a specifically defined target population, and its effectiveness is
measured by whether or not the fortified food is accepted, purchased, and
consumed by that population.

• The success of a food-fortification and enrichment programs is measured

by whether or not the nutrition and health status of the targeted
population has been improved.
• Therefore, several important aspects should be carefully assessed in
the development of a food-fortification and enrichment programs,
such as determining nutrient stability under normal conditions of
storage and use.

• From the technical point of view, nutritional stability during

formulation, preparation, and processing is crucial for the effective
production of fortified foods.
 Food Coatings / Edible packaging

• Edible packaging can be a potential futuristic eco-friendly food packaging

alternative.

• Consumers can consume edible packaging materials as they are extracted

from plants, animals, marine life or derived from natural food-grade
polymers such as polysaccharides, protein, or lipids.

• Edible packaging maintains food quality, extends shelf life, and reduces
waste to a certain extent.
• Biopolymers have several advantages, such as biodegradability,
recyclability, and sustainability.

• However, there are certain limitations due to their poor mechanical

and barrier properties.

• Additives can improve the flexibility, gas barrier, and mechanical

properties of packaging materials. Plasticizers, including glycerol and
sorbitol, make films and coatings more flexible to change their
shape more efficiently
• Active edible packaging techniques are gaining importance; for example,
edible essential oils as antimicrobial agents and can act as antioxidants
which reduces the rate of oxidation of food, thus controlling the taste
and nutrition of the food, ultimately extending the food product's shelf
life.

• These edible coatings can be used in the form of wraps and pouches.

• Edible packaging materials are suitable for packaging fruits, vegetables,

dairy, and meat products commercially.
The selection of edible packaging material depends on the

• type of food

• storage conditions

• temperature

• relative humidity.
• Edible films are made by casting, and the extrusion process and coating of
the edible solution are done by dipping and spraying.

• The significant difference is that in edible film, solid edible laminate is

wrapped around the food products.

• During the consumption do not need to remove the wrapping.

• These packaging materials should be edible, and they should have film
and coating forming capability.

• Polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids are such materials and can form
continuous films and coating.
The materials used in edible coatings formation must be of food grade and
non-toxic with proper hygiene processing practice. Edible coating production
has to follow Goods Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
 Properties of coatings
• Low gaseous permeability (The coating mainly controls/prevents the
migration of oxygen, carbon dioxide, solute compounds and moisture
from outside the environment into the foods )

• The inertness of coating substances

• The coating must be highly transparent in nature without any dark

coloration since the coated food has to be visible.
• The coating material should not produce any off flavour, smell or dark
coloration over the food.

• Some minimum scale of permeability barrier against water vapour to

prevent desiccation of fruits and vegetables.

• Edible coatings should be digestible if consumed along with the packed

foods, thus the coating substances should be non-toxic in nature.

• The edible coatings also retain the fresh juiciness of meat products
(poultry, beef, pork) when packed.
• The melting point of coating solution should be above 40 ◦C; the
solution must be non-sticky, low viscous, economical and possess
quick drying nature.

• In order to achieve uniform spreading and contraction of coating

solution, it is important to maintain the proper ratio of adhesion and
cohesion molecules.
Coating Methods
Dipping

• Dipping is the most widely used method in edible coating for fruits and
vegetables. The primary advantage of dipping is to attain a complete and
uniform coating of food products.

• The food compound to be coated is completely immersed in the coating

solution for a certain period (5 s to 3 min)
• The stages in the dipping method are as follows,

- Immersion of food sample which has to be coated.

- Contact with the coating mixture for the deposition of thin layer of edible
coating.

- Evaporation/Drying of coating and removal of excess coating mixture by

heating
Spraying Method
• The coating solution is sprayed over the food sample with the help of an
atomizer.

• As the solution is sprayed at higher pressure, fine droplets are created

over the food sample with the size ranging from micrometre to
nanometre.

• The efficiency of spray coating is dependent on the rheological properties

of the fluid like surface temperature, viscosity and temperature.

• Therefore, coating mixture with proper fluid rheology is prepared and

made to pass through the nozzle of atomizer.
• After spraying, the coated sample has to be allowed for some drying to take
place.

• In this stage, the drying method, time and temperature decide the coating
efficiency.

• In addition, the design and kind of nozzle also plays a significant role in
spraying.

• In industries, three different spraying procedures have been accomplished

namely
- air spray atomization
- air-assisted airless atomization
- pressure atomization
Fluidized bed coating

• In top spray fluidized bed, the coating is sprayed on the food stuffs
through the nozzle (binary/pneumatic) at a low pressure.

• Fluidized bed coating recorded reduced amount of weight loss of ready

to eat food with more resistant to attrition and increased crispness.
This technique faces solution loss while coating the food, since major
amount of coating gets adhered to the side walls of the coating unit.
Panning method
• The food to be coated is placed inside the pan, on which the coating solution is
sprinkled or sputtered.

• A spray gun is fitted inside the coating chamber for the release of coating
solution over the food products .

• During the cycle of coating, the pan is continuously rotated at particular speed
for overall distribution of the coating material.

• Once the coating is done, the product is moved into the drying cycle, where the
hot air is made to pass through it to achieve complete drying.

• The foods with round or oval shapes can be coated effectively by this technique.
Factors affecting to the coating process
• Improper storage condition
• Limited gas barrier property
• Low adhesion
• Inadequate moisture barrier property
• Undesired sensory effects
Advantages

• Edible coating provides glossy appearance to the coated food products.

• Decreases the respiration rate and emission of ethylene gas, thereby

declining the senescence phase of fruits/vegetables.

• Eliminates the use of non-biodegradable and hazardous packaging.

• Prevents the loss of volatile compounds present in food products.

• Maintains fruit firmness and reduces the weight loss to some extent.
• Aids in the shelf-life extension of fruits and vegetables.

• Free from toxic and reactive chemicals which leads to harmful effects on
humans.

• Moisture loss can be minimized by the application of coating, which acts

as a barrier.

• Incorporation of some active ingredients provides antimicrobial

protection to the coated food products.

• Few physical damages can also be controlled

Disadvantages

• Loss of food quality due to few modifications in the coating with

respect to gaseous exchanges upon packaging.

• Increased coating thickness leaves undesirable changes in the coated

food product by altering its flavor, weight loss and texture.

• Some sensory-related alterations are noted while imparting

antimicrobial compounds.
• The raw materials used for coating preparation results in allergic
reaction when consumed.

• Few kinds of coating methods incur huge cost, which eventually leads
to hike in the price of commodities
 Encapsulation

• Encapsulation is defined as the surrounding of an active ingredient (solid,

liquid, or gas) by a definite continuous coating or film.

• Typical diameters of microcapsules are in the range of 0.01 and 1,000 μm

and the thickness of wall material is in the range of 0.5-150 μm
 Major reasons for using the encapsulation

• Securing the product from the surrounding conditions (temperature, moisture …etc.).

• Protecting the active ingredient against deterioration and limiting the evaporation
(losses) of volatile material.

• Saving the environment from the hazards and toxic product to be more safely during
its handling.

• Dry handling by conversion of liquids and sticky solids to free flowing powders.

• Masking of undesired properties of the active components, like taste and odor.
According to capsule size, it can be classified into:

• Microcapsules size range between 0.2 and 5,000 μm for encapsulated

particles.

• Microcapsules size range larger than 5,000 μm.

• Nano capsules particle size is smaller than 0.2 μm (200 nm)

Methods of encapsulation
The encapsulation can be produced by different methods.

1- Physical process: spray drying; fluid bed coating, spray chilling, freeze
drying extrusion and co-crystallization.

2- Physicochemical: solvent evaporating (organic phase separation),

liposome entrapment, simple or complex coacervation (liquid phase
separation).
3- Chemical process: interfacial polymerization, and molecular inclusion.
 Selection of Encapsulation
• The selection of encapsulation for an application is based on parameters as;

• physical and chemical characteristics of the active agent and carrier

• particle size required

• application of encapsulation material

• required release mechanisms

• acceptable process cost

• industrial manufacturing scale.

• Materials used for the design of the protective shell of encapsulates must be

• food-grade and non-toxic

• biodegradable
• Biocompatible
• Inert
• Stability
• Act as barrier between the internal phase and its surroundings
• High encapsulation efficiency
• Ability to form films
• Neutral taste
• Control release / Relicense in the digestive tract
Typical core substances for food
• The core material is defined as the specific material to be coated (a biologically
active substance).

• The composition of the core material can be varied as liquid core which can
include dispersed and/or dissolved material, or solid core that can be single
solid substance or mixture of active constitute.

• The typical core substances for food are as follow; colorants and dyes, flavors,
minerals, vitamins, animal feed ingredients, deodorants, oils, perfumes,
stabilizers, sweeteners, nutrients, and antioxidants.
 Type of capsule wall materials
• Several materials are commercially suitable for use as flavor encapsulating
agents. The most commonly utilized are selected from the following types.

• Carbohydrates (cyclodextrins, corn syrup solids, starch and maltodextrins).

• Proteins (gelatin, sodium caseinate, whey protein, soy protein).

• Cellulose esters and ethers (ethyl cellulose, carboxy methylcellulose,

methylcellulose).

• Gums (agar, gum acacia, sodium alginate).

• Lipids (fats, waxes, paraffin and oils).

Applications

• Encapsulation has found an extensive application in the food

production generally involves volatiles, flavoring materials, vitamins,
mineral, essential oil oleoresins bacteria, enzyme and pigment.
Profit of encapsulation
1. Enzymes and microorganisms immobilization

Encapsulation of microorganism was used to enhance the stability of

starter cultures.

Enzymes of cheeses had been encapsulated to develop ripening.

The encapsulated enzymes which were sheltered from high ionic

strength and low pH in cheese
2. Prevents oxidation and provide protection against acids, heat, bases and UV

3. Improves shelf life because of preventing dehydration, oxidation derivative

reactions.

4. Masking of odors or taste.

5. Fine texture and processing with less degradation of ingredients.

6. Manages of hygroscope.

7. Promotes dispensability and flow ability.

8. Increases solubility.
9. The Control and target release of active ingredients: Oral and injected
formulations used in pharmaceutical that encapsulated for slow release in
time or at certain organ in the body.

10. Encapsulation allows combination of mismatched compounds.

Encapsulation Techniques
• Spray drying
• Extrusion methods
• Emulsification
• Spray chilling or spray cooling
• Fluidized bed coating
• Vacuum drying
• Freeze drying
• molecular inclusion
Micronization

• Micronization is defined as a reduction in the size of the particle to less

than ten microns.

• Micronization techniques involve the use of hydrodynamic and

mechanical methods to destroy internal linkages and cause breakdown
of the material.
• Reduction in particle size to micron level is accompanied with
changes in structural, physicochemical and functional properties.

• Properties like solubility, mouth-feel, water absorption, reaction

rate, and flavour release are improved at micron scale due to an
increase in surface area.
• The method for producing ultrafine submicronic suspensions involves
use of high shear, cavitational and grinding forces which are
generated by homogenizers, jet mills, colloid mills, high shear mixers
and ultrasound apparatuses.
• Homogenization and grinding follow the “top-down” approach.
Homogenization techniques like ultrasonic homogenizer, high-pressure
homogenizer (HPH) and microfluidizer are used to reduce the particle size
up to micron level for liquid products.

• Mechanical comminution processes such as colloidal mill, jet mill, and ball

mill are generally used for solid particles. But in the case of micronization of

solid particles by milling, products rich in acids and sugarssticks to the wall.
• Conventional techniques has many limitations like producing non-uniform
particles, product sticking on the wall, high energy requirement and low
encapsulation efficiency, mechanical and thermal degradation of the product.

• Non-conventional techniques involving supercritical fluids for micronization

overcome these drawbacks of conventional techniques as it is capable of
generating micron particles with uniform particle size distribution.

• Further in non-conventional techniques extract is not contaminated with the

residual solvent and environment is also not polluted.
• Micronization leads to desirable changes in insoluble fibres affecting its
physicochemical properties and improving physiological functions thus
increasing its application in the food industry.
• Micronization also improves the microbial shelf life of products non-thermally.

• Also functional properties like water holding capacity (WHC), oil holding
capacity (OHC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) have been improved by
reducing particle size.

• Micronizing different food products led to increase in antioxidant capacity,

product stability, reduced syneresis etc.
Methods of Micronization

• Micronization by mechanical grinders, jet mill, hammer mill, ball mill

• Micronization by supercritical fluid technologies

• Ultrasonic homogenizer/High-pressure homogenizer

• Microfludizer

• Electro spraying
Advantages

• Increased surface area

• Improved bio-availability

• Maintain the uniformity

• Improve the mixing ability

• Improve the dissolution rates and solubility