Preparation and Processing of Religious and Cultural Foods

Md. Eaqub Ali, Nina Naquiah Ahmad Nizar

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9780081018927
• eBook ISBN: 9780081018934
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Preparation and Processing of Religious and Cultural Foods covers the production and processing of foods from major religions, focusing on the intersection of religion, science and cultural perceptions in the production and processing of modern religious and vegetarian foods. Quality control and authentication technologies are looked at in-depth, while nutrition, antioxidants, aging, hygiene and other long-term health factors are presented from a scientific standpoint. Bringing together the top scientific researchers on this essential topic of importance to a huge percentage of the world's population, this book is ideal for food company innovation and R&D managers, producers and processers of religious foods.Religious groups have often been slow in implementing recent science and technology breakthroughs employed in the preparation, processing and packaging of various foods. This book provides a culturally sensitive coverage of these areas with an aim to encourage advancement.- Covers the production and processing of major religious foods, namely Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist- Presents nutritional, antioxidant, aging, hygiene and other long-term health factors from a scientific standpoint- Encourages advancement in the preparation, processing and packaging of religious foods using information cultivated from top scientific researchers in the field

Section B

Newly Emerging Issues in Religious and Cultural Foods

6

Innovative and fortified food: Probiotics, prebiotics, GMOs, and superfood

Theodoros Varzakas⁎; Panagiotis Kandylis⁎; Dimitra Dimitrellou⁎; Chryssoula Salamoura⁎; George Zakynthinos⁎; Charalampos Proestos^{† ⁎} TEI Peloponnese, Department of Food Technology, Kalamata, Greece
^† National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Abstract

The development of novel functional food containing probiotics is a highly growing area of the food industry and attracts special interest from the field of nutrition, due to their beneficial properties to human health. The term probiotics is mainly referred to live microorganisms (especially lactic acid bacteria), which upon consumption provide health benefits to the host. On the other hand, prebiotics are short-chain carbohydrates, which are nondigestible by humans and selectively stimulate the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of probiotic microorganisms. More specifically, they pass by the small intestine to the lower gut where they are utilized by probiotic bacteria, but not by other intestinal bacteria. Probiotics and prebiotics are contained in several fermented food which are part of the traditional diet of humans for thousands of years.

The nutraceuticals are commodities derived from food, but are used in the medicinal form of pills, capsules, or liquids and again render demonstrated physiological benefits. Nowadays, the tendency of using natural products that promote health is quite intensive. This category includes both nutraceuticals and herbal products as well as other natural products. Thus, the functionality of food, mainly of plant origin, could be an interchangeable tool to improve health and reduce disease risk through prevention. The subsection that refers to nutraceuticals will include terms and definitions, food sources of nutraceuticals, examples and case studies, legislation, uses and safety, and more yet the topic of promising and economics of nutraceuticals as alternative medicinal products.

GMO food are produced from genetically modified organisms. The latter have undergone specific changes in their genetic material by means of genetic engineering methods. They first entered the market in 1996. GM food are products of transgenic plants such as soybeans, corn, rice, tomato, and cotton. In recent years, foodstuffs produced in this way have faced a lot of criticism related to various factors such as safety, ecology, and economic issues.

Benefits and fears related to GM food will be analyzed. Moreover, the recent regulations regarding GM food will be outlined.

Keywords

Probiotics; Prebiotics; GMOs and superfood

6.1 Probiotics

6.1.1 Introduction

Nowadays, there is a growing global trend, and especially in EU and USA, of shifting in food products with beneficial health properties. This trend started some decades ago, and especially in 1960s, and up to 1970s, some substances that were considered as harmful, such as sugars and fats, were reduced in several food products. In 1980s, this trend continued with the reduction or elimination of food additives, and in 1990s, several useful components were added in food like vitamins, minerals, and probiotics (Khan et al., 2011). At the beginning of 21th century, probiotics gained more intensive attention and their market was over 35 billion US dollars in 2015 and estimated to further increase to 64.6 billion US dollars up to 2023 (Anonymous, 2016).

6.1.2 Definition

At the turn of 20th century, Elie Meltchnikoff proposed that the long and healthy lives of Bulgarian peasants may be attributed to the daily consumption of fermented dairy products and therefore introduced the “probiotic concept.” More specifically, he assumed that the consumption of fermented products with Lactobacillus may positively affect the gut microflora, by protecting the intestine from the damaging effect of other harmful bacteria (Tripathi and Giri, 2014). Probiotic is a word derived from two Greek words “pro” and “bio”, which mean “for life” and is associated with bacteria that have beneficial effects to the humans’ and animals’ health. The term probiotics was used by Lilly and Stillwell (1965) to describe the “produced substances by some microorganisms that prolong the logarithmic phase of other,” and to be contrasted with the term “antibiotics” (Lilly and Stillwell, 1965). Subsequently, the term was used to describe animal feed supplements which had a beneficial effect on the host animal by affecting its gut flora (Parker, 1974), while Fuller in 1989 defined a probiotic as “a live microbial feed supplement which beneficially affects the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance.” This definition is very important since it gave emphasis to the importance of live cells as an essential component of an effective probiotic (Fuller, 1989). Salminen et al. (1998) altered the definition to “probiotics are microbial cell preparations or components of microbial cells that have a beneficial effect on the health and well-being of the host,” taking into account that nonviable ingredients have been proved to provide health benefits (Salminen et al., 1999). However, the definition that is used today came from FAO/WHO and define probiotics as “live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host” (FAO/WHO, 2002). This definition also pointed out that probiotics should be live microorganisms, but also highlighted the importance of the “adequate amount” for consumption.

6.1.3 Microorganisms used as probiotics

One of the most important criteria for the selection of probiotic microorganisms is to be considered as GRAS (generally recognized as safe), and therefore, the microorganisms are used commercially in probiotic food as predominantly bacteria from the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium (Tripathi and Giri, 2014). These bacteria have a long history of applications in food products, and therefore, are considered safe for use. In addition, both of them are natural inhabitants in the human small intestine (Lactobacillus) and large intestine (Bifidobacterium). However, also other microorganisms have been used as probiotics, such as Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Saccharomyces and Propionibacterium yeasts, Bacillus, and filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus oryzae (Tripathi and Giri, 2014; Syngai et al., 2016). Apart from applications to human nutrition, probiotics have also applications in animal feed (pigs and poultry) with species such as Bacillus, Enterococcus, and Lactobacillus (Bernardeau and Vernoux, 2013) and in aquaculture (Nayak, 2010).

6.1.4 Selection criteria for probiotics

There are specific guidelines for the evaluation of probiotics in food and confirm their health claims and benefits. These guidelines describe four main steps to be followed (FAO/WHO, 2002): (1) Strain identification (by phenotypic and genotypic methods), (2) Functional characterization and safety assessment, (3) Health claims validated through human studies, and (4) Proper labeling. However, the selection of the ideal probiotic microorganism is the first and most important step for the production of a probiotic food product. In general, between the two predominant probiotic bacterial groups, Lactobacilli are more technologically suitable for fo...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• List of contributors
• Preface
• Section A: Introduction
• Section B: Newly Emerging Issues in Religious and Cultural Foods
• Section C: Standard Practices and Legislation
• Section D: Animal Killing and Meat Processing
• Section E: Controlling the Sanctity of Religious Foods
• Index