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There is a need to develop low-sugar healthy products. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of maltitol and inulin as sucrose replacement alongside resistant starch (RS) and green banana flour (GBF) on the texture and physical properties of gluten-free doughs and biscuits formulated with buckwheat, sorghum and lentil flours. These properties are important to predict the dough workability, how easy the biscuits could be mass-produced and determine consumers’ acceptability. Results showed that partial and complete substitution of sucrose could be achieved and appropriate concentration of resistant starch or green banana flour contributed to better dough and biscuit texture. RS content showed the biggest influence on dough stickiness and biscuit hardness and could be used to correct the negative effect of sucrose replacement and to maximise both the dough processability and biscuit acceptability.

The type and the amount of starch present in bakery products affect their glycaemic index. The control of glycaemic index in our diet can be relevant to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. The use of alternative flours to rice, maize, and their starches may improve the nutritional quality of gluten-free baked goods by reducing the glycaemic index. This work aimed at the formulation of satisfactory gluten-free biscuits by using underexploited flour mixes (from cereals, pseudocereals, and legumes), at the evaluation of their physical properties, starch digestibility and subsequent estimation of the glycaemic index. The presence of chickpea flour increased biscuit hardness and gluten-free flours darkened biscuit surface. The greatest differences in starch composition and its digestion were found between gluten-free samples and wheat-containing control. Experimental biscuits had also a lower predicted glycaemic index compared to commercial products, whereas experimental formulations presented similar values between each other. Consumers’ acceptance and sensory profiling by Check All That Apply questionnaire were carried out. All formulations but one were above the acceptance threshold (50); crumbliness and easiness to swallow were drivers of acceptance, whereas sandiness exerted a negative impact on liking score.

Consumer perceptions of upcycled foods, as well as the determinants of food choices, are still not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of psychological and personal traits on purchase intention (PI) towards upcycled foods of Italian consumers. Additionally, willingness to try (WTT), willingness to buy (WTB), and willingness to pay (WTP) for yogurt, bread, and biscuits made with by-products, namely, hazelnut skin and grape pomace powder, were collected. A web-based survey involving 505 consumers was conducted, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to evaluate the model. It resulted that food neophobia and attitude towards upcycled foods had a significant impact on PI. In turn, attitude was affected by food neophobia as well as by objective knowledge about food by-products. Unexpectedly, frugality and environmental concern did not affect PI. WTP was product-specific; when WTP was compared to a reference price, it was higher for the yogurt prototype, followed by the bread and biscuits prototypes. Food neophobia affected WTT, WTB, and WTP. This study contributes to providing new insights into the determinants of consumers’ purchase intention for upcycled foods, which are an emerging category of products.

The production of biogas from anaerobic digestion (AD) of residual agro-food biomasses represents an opportunity for alternative production of energy from renewable sources, according to the European Union legislation on renewable energy. This review provides an overview of the various aspects involved in this process with a focus on the best process conditions to be used for AD-based biogas production from residual agro-food biomasses. After a schematic description of the AD phases, the biogas plants with advanced technologies were described, pointing out the strengths and the weaknesses of the different digester technologies and indicating the main parameters and operating conditions to be monitored. Subsequently, a brief analysis of the factors affecting methane yield from manure AD was conducted and the AD of fruit and vegetables waste was examined. Particular attention was given to studies on co-digestion and pre-treatments as strategies to improve biogas yield. Finally, the selection of specific microorganisms and the genetic manipulation of anaerobic bacteria to speed up the AD process was illustrated. The open challenges concern the achievement of the highest renewable energy yields reusing agro-food waste with the lowest environmental impact and an increment of competitiveness of the agricultural sector in the perspective of a circular economy.

The lentil seed coat is a waste by-product still rich in phenolic compounds, specifically condensed tannins. The effect of different solvents, as well as different processes, namely conventional solid–liquid extraction (CSLE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), on the extraction yield of specific phenolic compound classes was studied. Four empirical two-parameter models were examined to select the one that better fit the experimental data obtained under different operating conditions. Additionally, ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI/QTOF-MS) was employed to profile the phenolic compounds obtained under distinct extraction conditions. In the operative conditions adopted here, the bioactive compounds yield achieved using UAE was lower than that obtained with CSLE. The kinetics of polyphenols, flavonoids, and condensed tannins extraction from the lentil seed coat were successfully fitted to the power-law models, yielding mean values of the root mean square < 5.4%, standard error of estimation < 0.53, and coefficient of determination > 0.8. In addition, the UHPLC-ESI/QTOF-MS of the lentil seed coat extracts allowed the putative recognition of nearly 500 compounds, mainly flavonoids and phenolic acids.

The brewing industry produces high quantities of solid and liquid waste, causing disposal issues. Brewing spent grains (BSGs) and brewing spent hop (BSH) are important by-products of the brewing industry and possess a high-value chemical composition. In this study, BSG and BSH, obtained from the production process of two different types of ale beer (Imperial red and Belgian strong beer) were characterized in terms of valuable components, including proteins, carbohydrates, fat, dietary fiber, β-glucans, arabinoxylans, polyphenols, and phenolic acids, and antioxidant activity (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power Assay (FRAP), 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS)). Significant concentrations of total polyphenols were observed in both BSH and BSG samples (average of about 10 mg GAE/g of dry mass); however, about 1.5-fold higher levels were detected in by-products of Belgian strong ale beer compared with Imperial red. Free and bound phenolic acids were quantified using a validated chromatographic method. A much higher level of total phenolic acids (TPA) (about 16-fold higher) was found in BSG samples compared with BSHs. Finally, their antioxidant potential was verified. By-products of Belgian strong ale beer, both BSG and BSH, showed significantly higher antioxidative capacity (about 1.5-fold lower inhibitory concentration (IC50) values) compared with spent grains and hop from the brewing of Imperial red ale. In summary, BSG and BSH may be considered rich sources of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and antioxidant compounds (polyphenols), and have the potential to be upcycled by transformation into value-added products.

Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Currently, it affects around 1% of world population, but it is constantly growing. Celiac patients have to follow a strict gluten-free (GF) diet. Beer is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide, but it is not safe for people with CD. It has a gluten content usually above the safe threshold (20 ppm), determined by the official method for hydrolyzed foods (R5-competitive-ELISA). The demand on the market for GF beers is increasingly growing. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of different strategies to produce GF beer, highlighting strengths and weaknesses of each approach and taking into account technological and sensory issues. GF cereals or pseudocereals have poor brewing attitudes (if used as main raw material) and give the beer unusual flavour. Instead, enzymatic treatments allow traditional brewing process followed by gluten content reduction. A survey on 185 GF-producing breweries (both industrial and craft) from all over the world have been considered to assess which approach is most used. Beers brewed with GF cereals and pseudocereals (used in well-balanced proportions) are more common than gluten-removed (GR) beers, obtained by enzymatic treatment.

Hypercholesterolemia, which is an increase in total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) serum cholesterol, is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle modifications underpin any action plan for reducing serum cholesterol. Phytosterols are natural compounds belonging to the triterpenes family. Thanks to their structural analogy with cholesterol, phytosterols have the ability to reduce serum LDL-cholesterol levels. Phytosterols are used to enrich or fortify a broad spectrum of food products. Like unsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol, phytosterols are easily oxidized. Microencapsulation could be a useful tool to overcome this and other drawbacks linked to the use of phytosterols in food fortification. In this review, in addition to explaining the phytosterols’ mechanisms of action, a focus on the use of free and encapsulated phytosterols for the formulation of functional foods, taking also into account both technological and legislative issues, is given.

The nutritional quality of animal products is strongly related to their fatty acid content and composition. Nowadays, attention is paid to the possibility of producing healthier foods of animal origin by intervening in animal feed. In this field, the use of condensed tannins as dietary supplements in animal nutrition is becoming popular due to their wide range of biological effects related, among others, to their ability to modulate the rumen biohydrogenation and biofortify, through the improvement of the fatty acids profile, the derivate food products. Unfortunately, tannins are characterized by strong astringency and low bioavailability. These disadvantages could be overcome through the microencapsulation in protective matrices. With this in mind, the optimal conditions for microencapsulation of a polyphenolic extract rich in condensed tannins by spray drying using a blend of maltodextrin (MD) and gum Arabic (GA) as shell material were investigated. For this purpose, after the extract characterization, through spectrophotometer assays and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight (UHPLC-QTOF) mass spectrometry, a central composite design (CCD) was employed to investigate the combined effects of core:shell and MD:GA ratio on the microencapsulation process. The results obtained were used to develop second-order polynomial regression models on different responses, namely encapsulation yield, encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, and tannin content. The formulation characterized by a core:shell ratio of 1.5:5 and MD:GA ratio of 4:6 was selected as the optimized one with a loading capacity of 17.67%, encapsulation efficiency of 76.58%, encapsulation yield of 35.69%, and tannin concentration of 14.46 g/100 g. Moreover, in vitro release under varying pH of the optimized formulation was carried out with results that could improve the use of microencapsulated condensed tannins in animal nutrition for the biofortification of derivates.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in a diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) as a promising therapeutic approach to reduce the symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Hence, the development of low FODMAPs products is an important challenge for the food industry, and among the various foodstuffs associated with the intake of FODMAPs, cereal-based products represent an issue. In fact, even if their content in FODMAPs is limited, their large use in diet can be an important factor in developing IBS symptoms. Several useful approaches have been developed to reduce the FODMAPs content in processed food products. Accurate ingredient selection, the use of enzymes or selected yeasts, and the use of fermentation steps carried out by specific lactic bacteria associated with the use of sourdough represent the technical approaches that have been investigated, alone or in combination, to reduce the FODMAPs content in cereal-based products. This review aims to give an overview of the technological and biotechnological strategies applicable to the formulation of low-FODMAPs products, specifically formulated for consumers affected by IBS. In particular, bread has been the foodstuff mainly investigated throughout the years, but information on other raw or processed products has also been reported. Furthermore, taking into account the required holistic approach for IBS symptoms management, in this review, the use of bioactive compounds that have a positive impact on reducing IBS symptoms as added ingredients in low-FODMAPs products is also discussed.