APPLIED RESEARCHES CONCERNING THE FORTIFIED GLUTEN-FREE CEREAL-BASED PRODUCTS DESIGN

1. First International Symposium on Gluten-Free Cereal Products & Beverages, Cork, Ireland, September, 12-14, 2007 APPLIED RESEARCHES CONCERNING THE FORTIFIED GLUTEN-FREE CEREAL-BASED PRODUCTS DESIGN Duta, D.E.1, Gagiu, V.1, Olteanu, M.2 1Institute of Food Bioresources, Bucharest, Romania 2National Research-Development Institute for Animal Biology and Nutrition, Romania Introduction The priorities in gluten intolerance diet are: the elimination from diet of foods which contain gluten and the compensation of nutritional deficiencies with foods that do not contain gluten, in order to assure a complete caloric and nutritious diet. The correction of nutritional unbalances, created by the coeliac disease: hypocalcaemia, hypomagnesaemia, hypopotassaemia, hipoalbuminemie, deficits in: iron, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin K etc. can be reached with foods improved in specific nutrients. The main objective of the study was to obtain new cereal-based gluten-free (GF) products improved in vitamins and minerals as: cheese biscuits, cakes and pasta, using modern equipments. Materials Methods GF ingredients were used to produce some GF bakery products, fortified in minerals and vitamins: rice flour, corn flour, eggs, cheese, sour cream, powder milk, corn starch, modified corn starch, sugar, vegetal oil. New equipments (pasta machine and biscuit machine) were adapted for GF products production. The physical-chemical characteristics of obtained products were assessed and they are presented in Table 1. The calcium (mg/100 g) and iron (mg/kg) contents were measured by atomic absorbance spectrometry (AAS- fig.1) and vitamins A (mg/100g) and E (mg/100g) contents were measured by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography-fig.2). The products were tested against the gliadin content by ELISA test (RIDASCREEN FAST Gliadin: detection limit 2 ppm gliadin, limit of quantification: 5 ppm gliadin, from R-Biopharm AG, Germany, fig.3): the raw ingredients as well as the end-products. GF pasta were obtained with a modern and fully automatic machine (fig.4), with a capacity of 8-10 kg pasta/hour. The pasta products were tested for their behavior during boiling and the increase of pasta volume after boiling was calculated (fig.5). The products were assessed for microbiological safety (tests were done for: coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Bacillus cereus, coagulase-positive staphylococci, yeasts and moulds). The GF products were sensorial analyzed by a trained panel (n=13) for: appearance, color, texture, consistency during mastication, odor, taste and flavour. Attributes intensities were rated on a 5 points scale. The average mark was correlated with a total evaluation scale (for a mark between 18.1-20, the product is considered very good). Fig.1 Atomic absorbance spectrometry Fig.2 High performance liquid chromatography Fig.3 ELISA equipment Results and discussions Table1. The physical-chemical characteristics of the GF obtained fortified products Eggs are an important source of protein, essential vitamins and minerals and can make a significant contribution to a healthy diet. Eggs act as multifunctional ingredient in cakes. Due to their composition, they impart a wide variety of attributes to foods: they structure, emulsify, and add color and flavor. The eggs are the major ingredient in GF cakes (fig.8) Fig.8. GF cakes with cacao and dried fruits Preliminary experiments were done in order to establish a proper recipe for GF cheese biscuits (fig.6) from sensorial, physical-chemical and technological points of view. Seven recipes were developed and the influence of cheese type, the effect of gums and the influence of yeast or baking powder were assessed. Sensorial analyses were used to choose the most appreciated GF cheese biscuits recipe. The product chosen received an average mark of 18.03 divided between sensorial attributes as presented in fig.7. The GF pasta were improved by adding eggs and milk powder to the recipe. The GF pasta products had a very good behaviour during boiling, they mantain their shape and the color and they increased their final volume 2.5 times, after 10 minutes boiling (Fig.5). Fig.5. GF pasta behavior during boiling Fig. 6. GF cheese biscuits Fig. 7. Spider sensorial diagram for GF cheese biscuits Fig. 4. GF pasta machine The adding of eggs, cheese and milk powder improved the content of proteins, minerals and vitamins as well as the sensorial characteristics of the products. The GF products obtained are free of gluten, with a content of gluten less than 20 ppm, calculated by ELISA method, microbiologically safe and with an improved nutritional value. The products were introduced in the diet of coeliac pacients, under the gastroenterologists supervision. 100 pacients, without other diseases/disorders associated with coeliac disease, received a controlled amount of the new GF products, 2 months. An improvement of iron and calcium deficiencis was observed. Conclusions The GF products obtained were sensorial appreciated by the coeliac consumers; the values of vitamins and minerals were increased and the clinical tests demonstrated a good tolerance of these products. A good source of calcium contributes at least 100 milligrams of calcium in a standard serving. The products obtained have between 45 and 80 mg calcium/100 g product. The GF obtained have a good content of iron, comparing with other types of foods: spinach (33mg/kg), lima beans (15mg/kg), potato (14mg/kg), tomato (3mg/kg), apples (1.5mg/kg), raisins (20mg/kg), whole wheat bread (43mg/kg), eggs (20mg/kg) etc. All the patients appreciated the new GF cereal based products as a good possibility to diversify and to improve the quality of life. References Fairweather-Tait, S,J. and Teucher, B., 2002, Iron and calcium bioavailability of fortified foods and dietary supplements, Nutrition Reviews, 60(12):360-367; Kaukinen, K., Mäki, M., Collin, P., 2004, Trace amounts of gluten in the treatement of coeliac disease, Proceedings of the 19th Meeting Working group on Prolamin Analysis and Toxicity (Prague), edited by Martin Stern, University of Tűbingen; Catassi, C., Fabiani, E., Mandolesi, A., Bearzi, I., et all, 22004, The Italian study on gluten microchallenge: preliminary results, Proceedings of the 19th Meeting Working group on Prolamin Analysis and Toxicity (Prague), edited by Martin Stern, University of Tűbingen; Kupper, C., 2005, Dietary Guidelines and Implementation for Celiac Disease, Gastroenterology, 125: S121-S127. Acknowledgement: This work was funded by The Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, Programme CEEX-USAMVB, Contract no.1/2005. Contact: Dr. D.E. Duta; denisa.duta@bioresurse.ro, denisa_duta@yahoo.com, Institute of Food Bioresources, Research – Development Department, 6 Dinu Vintila street, 021102, sector 2, Bucharest, Romania