Novel foods and food ingredients: what is the mission of scientists and technologists?

Abstract

The situation concerning world food production is changing dramatically. On the one hand, the world population is expected to grow still further, reaching about 8 billion people in the middle of the 21st century. Novel phenomena, such as ageing of the human population and excess weight in developing countries pose new nutrition problems. Food scares, which were enhanced by recent BSE and toxicological outbreaks, hinder the applicability of some solutions. Under these conditions, scientists and technologists should participate actively in the tasks of informing the population as well as ®nding new ways to provide people with the optimal amount of nutritious food.

Is Gmo “Sustainable”? A Review of the Environmental Risks of Gm Plants in Comparison With Conventional and Organic Crops

“…The term "risk" is mainly associated with negative events, being defined as, for example, "the possibility that an undesirable state of reality may occur" 19 , or "the probability and consequences of adverse events" 20 . Subsequently, risk management is "…the process of weighting policy alternatives to accept, minimize or reduce assessed risks and to select and implement appropriate options…" 21 . Nevertheless, in this paper we decided to consider "risk" and "risk management" from a broader perspective, taking into account also benefits and opportunities.…”

Stabilization of food dispersions by enzymes

“…Instead of simply demanding sufficient quantities of safe food that satisfy the caloric intake needs of the population, consumers increasingly ask that their food also promote their health and wellbeing. 1,2 Modern health and wellness promoting foods are commonly known as functional or novel foods and contain additional ingredients (so called nutraceuticals) that have been shown to affect human physiology in a positive way. [3][4][5][6] The list of bioactive or nutraceutical components that may be added to foods is continuously growing.…”

“…10,11 Therefore, food technologists and food manufacturers are required to develop very specic, tailor-made delivery systems that comply with a number of key performance requirements. For example, delivery systems are required to (1) contain an appreciable amount of a functional component, (2) protect the bioactive component against chemical degradation such as oxidation or hydrolysis, (3) allow for a controlled-release of the functional ingredients at an appropriate time and at an appropriate location, (4) be compatible with the specic surrounding matrix, and (5) be physically stable, that is resist a large number of environmental stresses that may be superimposed during production, storage, and transport. To this purpose, a large number of delivery and encapsulation systems have been created by food scientists to incorporate bioactive and functional ingredients (Fig.…”