The food ingredients industry plays a pivotal role in global food safety, shaping not only the flavor and texture of food but also impacting its quality and driving consumer trends. Understanding the properties and applications of these ingredients is essential for ensuring high-quality food production and meeting market demands, which can be categorized into numerous types, each serving distinct functions in food formulations.
Among the primary categories are:
- **Emulsifiers:** These enable the blending of typically immiscible ingredients, such as oil and water, stabilizing the resulting emulsion.
- **Stabilizers:** They preserve the consistency, texture, and stability of food throughout processing and storage.
- **Flavorings:** These enhance the aroma and taste of food, which can be either natural or artificial.
- **Colorants:** Used to add visual appeal to food, improving its aesthetic presentation.
- **Preservatives:** They extend the shelf life of food by inhibiting microbial growth and delaying spoilage.
- **Thickeners:** Increase the viscosity and texture of food, offering a desirable mouthfeel.
- **Acidulants:** Add acidity to food, enhancing flavor and acting as preservatives.
- **Sweeteners:** Used to sweeten food, which can be either natural (like sugars) or artificial (like synthetic sweeteners).
Each category possesses unique characteristics and functions that directly affect the properties of food and the final product. Within each ingredient category, there are essentials for a broad spectrum of products, much like the formulations included in BRF Ingredients' portfolio, which we’ll discuss further.
Key ingredients such as flours, fats, oils, flavorings, and proteins are central to many recipes and the food ingredients industry.
The selection of ingredients can significantly alter the taste, texture, and overall quality of food, impacting its sensory appeal in the final product.
### Three Categories and Food Groups
Based on the NOVA classification, foods are grouped into four categories, but our focus lies on three of them. The NOVA classification was introduced in the early 2000s by researchers from Nupens (Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health), highlighting shifts in the perception of industrial food processing. These groups are:
- **Group 1: Unprocessed or Minimally Processed Foods**
Unprocessed foods are sourced directly from nature, such as seeds, fruits, leaves, roots, muscle tissues, eggs, and milk. Minimally processed foods are ingredients that require some processing before reaching consumers but retain their natural characteristics without additives. Examples include BRF Ingredients’ Soy Proteins and Flours, which undergo thermal treatment with specific technology that preserves the main properties of unprocessed foods, such as soy.
- **Group 2: Processed Culinary Ingredients**
Some unprocessed or minimally processed foods require cooking or seasoning. This leads to the creation of processed culinary ingredients, substances extracted from Group 1 foods through methods like pressing, centrifugation, and concentration. Olive oil from olives, butter from milk, and sugar from sugarcane or beets fall into this category. From BRF Ingredients’ portfolio, Vegetable Oils and Fats, along with Natural Meat Flavors, fit here.
These ingredients are critical in transforming Group 1 foods into recipes and meals, enhancing sensory qualities like flavor and texture.
- **Group 3: Processed Foods**
Processed foods extend the shelf life of original ingredients and diversify diets. The quality of food depends heavily on the choice and properties of the ingredients used. High-quality fresh ingredients generally yield tastier and more nutritious products.
Proper combinations of ingredients contribute to desired textures, appealing appearances, and longer shelf lives.
While food ingredients play a vital role in creating delicious and visually appealing foods, it’s equally important to consider their nutritional and health implications. Some ingredients, like sugars and saturated fats, may pose health risks if consumed excessively, whereas others, such as fibers, proteins, and vegetable oils, are essential for a balanced diet.
### Ingredients for Enhanced Flavor and Texture
When developing food products, BRF Ingredients considers nutritional guidelines and consumer health concerns, balancing taste, nutrition, and sustainability. Their Food Ingredients portfolio includes several products with detailed production specifications, applications, and benefits. These include:
- **NatSense Natural Meat Flavors:** As preservatives and flavor enhancers, these flavors are derived from fresh animal raw materials sourced from BRF’s integrated supply chain. While flavor preservatives are created through slow cooking, flavor enhancers are made via enzymatic hydrolysis. They can be applied in various sweet and savory products, including:
- NatSense Sodium Reducer
- NatSense Chicken Broth
- NatSense Chicken Broth with Salt
- NatSense Chicken
- NatSense Beef
- **Soy Proteins and Flours:** Derived from thermally treated grains, these products contain nutrients and functional properties that improve the sensory profile of food, maintaining texture, liquid retention, and juiciness. BRF Ingredients’ portfolio includes:
- Texturized Soy Protein
- Texturized Soy Protein with Poultry Skin
- Supper-M Defatted Soy Flour
- Active SoyMax-M Defatted Soy Flour
- **Breading Flours:** Produced through the extrusion of natural raw materials like wheat and corn, these flours come in various colors and grain sizes, offering crispiness and texture tailored to specific food applications. Examples include:
- Cracker Breading Flour
- Expanded Breading Flour
- **SENSE Vegetable Fats:** These fats ensure high performance, creaminess, and structure in formulations while having low saturated fat and zero trans fat content. BRF Ingredients’ SENSE Vegetable Fats are versatile and maintain high crystallization performance at elevated temperatures, improving the healthiness of formulations across multiple food sectors. Products include:
- Frying and Spraying Fat
- Fat for Doughs and Baking
- Fat for Ice Creams
- Industrial Margarine with Salt
The extensive applications and benefits of BRF Ingredients reach a variety of foods and recipes, both savory and sweet. For instance, adding soy proteins in sweet foods can create stable emulsions, replacing chemical emulsifiers and achieving similar consistency. Infillings, inactive soy flour aids emulsion formation, providing viscosity gains that favor aeration, beneficial for ice creams.
Thus, selecting raw materials (Group 1) for Group 2 and 3 food formulations is crucial to meet consumer demands for quality, safety, traceability, and sustainability. Many factors influence purchasing decisions, including brand reputation, nutritional value, market practices, and environmental impact. The sensory experience an ingredient or brand provides, along with a company’s environmental commitment, is particularly significant.
One major challenge in the food industry is making nutritious and healthy foods appealing to consumers. Sensory analysis focuses on improving aroma profiles, taste, texture, and appearance—key elements of BRF Ingredients’ portfolio.
Ultimately, food ingredients are indispensable in the industry, influencing taste, quality, safety, and consumer acceptance. By comprehending their properties and applications, the industry can uphold quality standards to meet modern market expectations.
### Conclusion
As the food industry evolves, the pursuit of new ingredients and innovative technologies continues to drive the creation of products aligning with consumer demands for quality, variety, and sustainability. Grasping the importance and characteristics of key ingredients across different food groups helps us understand consumer preferences and guides food production.
At the intersection of science, culinary art, and taste, food ingredients shape flavors, textures, and sensory experiences. From simple elements to industrially manufactured ones, these ingredients form the foundation of diverse food products.
To explore BRF Ingredients’ offerings, visit the page: Food Ingredients - BRF Ingredients.
**References**
[1] Núcleo de Pesquisas Epidemiológicas em Nutrição e Saúde (Nupens-USP). A classificação NOVA. Available at: A classificação NOVA | Nupens (usp.br). Accessed in February 2024.
[2] Menegassi, Bruna, et al. A nova classificação de alimentos: teoria, prática e dificuldades. Revista Ciência e Saúde, 23 (12), December 2018. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320182312.30872016. Accessed in February 2024.
[3] Soares, Ana Paula da Costa, et al. (eds). Alimentos com propriedades funcionais e de saúde: evidências e pretensos efeitos. Edifes, 2023. Available at: 9788582636176.pdf (ifes.edu.br). Accessed in February 2024.
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