| dc.description.abstract | In today’s society, consumers are increasingly more health-conscious, and they are holding companies more and more accountable for food safety, quality and sustainable production methods. Being able to produce sustainably while also ensuring high-quality products and food safety means looking more closely at alternative methods of food processing and hybrid-strategies in order to create effective production methods.
The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the effects of high-pressure processing (HPP) of protein enriched soup (PES) and texture modified products (TMPs) on qualities like texture, viscosity, color, pH and microbiological activity. Furthermore, it was also to analyze any variations in product quality as a result of storage duration and protein enrichment by comparing control samples (no HPP) with samples processed at both 400 and 600 MPa. As a processing method, HPP is mainly said to preserve nutritional quality, increase food safety and prolong shelf life while having minimal effect on the sensory qualities of food and drink products.
Both TMP and PES samples were created using a standard recipe and a protein enriched recipe. The TMPs were created using recipes with 0% protein enrichment (#3 standard recipe) and 5.2% protein enrichment (#13 enriched recipe). The PESs were created using recipes with 0% protein enrichment (4% standard recipe) and 4,9% protein enrichment (8% enriched recipe).
All of these products were also created and modified with the intention of serving as customizable food products for specific demographics in need of tailor-modified foods. These populations were namely identified as dysphagia patients and the elderly demographic. These products were also designed for hospitals and medical facilities as the main consumer arena.
There were no substantial changes in sensory or microbiological parameters as a result of HPP exclusively. There were textural changes both TMPs and PESs. TMPs increased slightly in firmness as a result of HPP but decreased in firmness as a result of storage duration. PESs decreased in thickness (measured in yield stress) as a result of HPP. | |