Desenvolvimento de bolachas funcionais

Abstract

Common to all stages of life, a healthy diet is a fundamental pillar of general health and well-being. As a responsible food industry, Cerealis is aware and committed to the current nutritional issues. The main goal of this work was motivated by the continuous commitment of this company in product’s innovation of products that correspond to the consumers' needs. In addition to this research component, the internship also included a professional component, with execution of activities intrinsic to the role of assistant in company’s Research and Development. Based on the idea of producing biscuits with nutritional and healthful properties, three distinct products were developed: – Cocoa biscuit enriched with calcium and vitamin D aimed at a children's target group; – Citrus flavoured biscuit fortified with protein aimed at sportspeople, teenagers, adults and elderly and – Cocoa biscuit rich in beta-glucans indicated for adults and the elderly who want to reduce their plasma cholesterol levels. These developments included scientific research, market analyses, contact with suppliers, laboratory tests, adaptation and adjustment of formulations, organoleptic analyses by R&D department's sensory panel and theoretical determination of nutritional parameters. In particular, for the calcium and vitamin D-enriched biscuit and protein-fortified biscuit, they were subsequently submitted to consumer tests and their nutritional parameters were experimentally determined using near-infrared spectroscopy and current reference methods. At sensory level, the final prototypes produced in the laboratory showed very satisfactory performances. Those that went forward for external sensory analysis had a mostly positive overall appreciation (97%) and high acceptability by the consumers, with the second highest rating on each hedonic scale being more prevalent. At the nutritional level, according to the reference methods, both biscuits are high in fibre. The biscuit fortified with protein has a high protein content. Regarding the biscuit fortified with calcium and vitamin D, the results obtained demonstrate the need to increase the amount of calcium to obtain the "high calcium" claim. The prototype products elaborated, despite needing further adjustments and validation of several nutritional values to enable their labelling with nutrition and health claims, have concepts and developments with potential for industrial scale production.

Date of Award	24 Nov 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ana Maria Gomes (Supervisor)