CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Nowadays consumers demand foods which contribute directly to their health and not only satisfy hunger. They are interested in foods that provide necessary nutrients but also to prevent nutrition-related diseases and improve their physical and mental well-being. In this regard, functional foods play an outstanding role. Functional foods contain health-promoting components (e.g. dietary fiber) but little is known about the consumer acceptability. The objectives of the present study were: (a) to fortify kiwifruit juice with inulin and apple fiber in order to obtain a functional beverage (b) to evaluate the impact of adding prebiotic fibers on the sensory quality of the product. Fiber concentrations chosen applied were: 7.5, 15 and 22 g/L (to inulin I1, I2 and I3 respectively and to apple fiber A1, A2 and A3 respectively). The range of concentrations used was chosen according to the Argentinean Alimentary Code. It states that a food to be considered as functional beverage must contain at least 1.5 g/100 % w/v of prebiotic fibers. Six kiwifruit samples were prepared based on the concentrations mentioned before and one more was used as a control sample in which no fiber was added. The samples were stored under refrigeration (5°C) for 6 days. At days 0, 2 and 6 a sensory evaluation was carried out by a hedonic scale consisting of 5 points, where 5 means very good and 1 poor. Ten trained panelists evaluated the beverage for color, flavor, consistency and sweet and acid taste. At day 0, apple fiber samples showed significant differences in color in every concentration. This is because apple fiber is brown colored, and as a result of this, the original color of the kiwifruit juice turns to be modified. A3 was the least accepted by panelists. Changes in color were registered along the whole storage. Furthermore, every apple fiber concentration showed significant differences in flavor compared to the control sample. A3 obtained the lowest score in both attributes. As regards to inulin samples, no significant changes were detected in every attribute analyzed in comparison with the control sample. During all storage period, inulin samples scores were better in every attribute compared to the control sample. In conclusion, it was possible to obtain a functional beverage by the addition of prebiotic fibers. As regards to inulin, any of the three chosen concentrations can be added to the juice. This addition improves the sweet taste of the juice and it maintains the original color of the beverage, during refrigerated storage. In the case of orange fiber samples, the only accepted concentration was A1.

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