Bioaccessibility of Biofortified Sweet Potato Carotenoids in Baby Food: Impact of Manufacturing Process

Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), a biofortified crop rich in β-carotene, can be used as a component of baby food recipes in order to tackle vitamin A deficiency in children <6 years old. In this work, the impact of formulation (addition of pumpkin, oil, and egg yolk) and industrial heat processing (pasteurization, sterilization) on carotenoid content and bioaccessibility was evaluated in an OFSP-based baby puree. A commercial OFSP baby food product from Brazil and a homemade OFSP puree were used as references. The losses of all-trans-β-carotene ranged from 16 to 21% (pasteurization, homemade) to 32% (sterilization). Because of higher particle sizes and despite a higher content in carotenoids, the homemade puree had a lower bioaccessibility (i.e., micellar transfer using in vitro digestion: 0.50%) compared with the sterilized and commercial purees (5.3–6.2%). Taking into account bioaccessibility and applying a 50% conversion to retinol, a 115 g baby portion of the sterilized OFSP-puree formulated with 2% oil provided 31.4% of the daily vitamin A requirement (RDA) for children under 6 years. In comparison, 115 g of homemade OFSP-puree provided only 3.5% of the RDA. Addition of pumpkin to OFSP did not improve the percentage of RDA. Interestingly, the incorporation of an emulsifier (egg yolk powder) before cooking could improve the percentage of provision by a factor of 2.7. These results showed that reaching a balance between formulation and processing is determinant to maximize carotenoid bioaccessibility of carotenoids from OFSP-based baby food

Heat and mass transfer during frying

Chapitre 2Heat and mass transfer during fryin

Direct observation of the surface structure of French fries by UV–VIS confocal laser scanning microscopy

Observations of raw, fried and air-dried potato parenchyma samples were made with a UV-VIS confocal laser scanning microscope in reflective and fluorescence modes. Distinction between oil and cells was made possible by the addition of a fluorescent probe in the frying oil and the use of the natural fluorescence of cells. Observations were recorded at different depths and were treated to make volumetric reconstructions at different product scales. The results showed that after frying, the cellular structures were well conserved in terms of shape and size. Oil was shown to be mainly located in the first cell layer occupying around 50% of its volume. Oil remained in the cut cells emptied during the washing or the frying operation or in the damaged cells partially filled with starch. Cell detachment, because of starch swelling and dehydration. seemed to be the preferential connection between cell layers. The positive effect of air-drying toward oil uptake reduction could be the restriction of these connections

Kinetic modeling of four folates in a model solution at different temperatures and pH to mimic their behavior in foods during processing

International audienc

Feasibility of Individual Carotenoid Quantification in Mixtures Using UV-Vis Spectrophotometry with Multivariate Curve Resolution Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS)

International audienceA fast and low-cost analytical method to determine the concentrations of carotenoids (β-carotene, lutein, and lycopene) from mixed standard solutions or from fruit extracts (kiwi fruits, tomato paste, pink grapefruit juice, kiwi-pineapple smoothie, and apricot nectar) was tested. The methodology was based on UV-Vis spectrophotometry and Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS). Results showed that relative concentrations of β-carotene, lutein, and lycopene in solvent were successfully determined by this technique with an error inferior to 6%. In real extracts, the procedure succeeded well in identifying the major carotenoid type of the fruit samples but also a more complex profile of a fruit mixture. The results also showed that accuracy of carotenoids determination by UV-Vis spectrophotometry-MCR-ALS in fruit extracts was conditioned by their spectral characteristics (III/II ratios and λmax), their relative proportion, and the extract purity