New strategies for creating cell wall polymer based functional properties in fruits and vegetable based matrices.

One of the major trends in transforming fruit and vegetable raw materials into food products is to minimize the production of waste streams and/or to valorize such waste streams into high added value ingredients for use in foods. Large volume waste streams are available from e.g. the juice industry, and more recently from manufacturing natural food colorants (a fast growing part of the ingredient industry). The current project aims at optimal valorization of the cell wall material (pectin, hemicellulose and cellulose) that is present in fruit and vegetable raw matrices (including waste streams) by converting specific parts into multi-functional ingredients (e.g. gelling agents, water binding agents, emulsifiers) and/or generate in situ desired functional properties of derived foods. The project will focus primarily on pectin fractions and associated residues. The main focus will be on the process (extraction, thermal treatments, mechanical treatments, enzyme treatments etc.) structure (obtained through chemical and physico-chemical characterization) function (gelling, emulsifying) relation of the fractions obtained. Given the diversity in cell wall composition and structure of different fruit and vegetable raw materials and waste streams thereof, the processes will be adapted to specific matrices. This project will ultimately lead to clean label food ingredients and food products with optimal functional properties such as texture, color and flavor.

Keywords:fruits

Disciplines:Food sciences and (bio)technology