Isoflavone-enriched Foods : Aspects of Production, Analysis, Sensory Properties and Shelf Life - The PHYTOS Project

Epidemiological data suggest that Asian women, consuming traditional soy based foods enjoy better cardiovascular and bone health than their counterparts in Western societies. A large body of data indicate that soy-isoflavones (IF) are involved in protecting from cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, in reducing the risk of certain cancers and in reducing post-menopausal symptoms. Unlike Asians, Western populations do not consume a lot of soy based foods, resulting is a low intake of IF. Increasing daily IF intake in these populations is either possible by consuming supplements or foods that have been enriched with IF. In the present study we report on various aspects of food enrichment with IF, effects on organoleptic properties and shelf life as well as analysis of IF content in processed foods. The results show that the different processing steps in the preparation of biscuits, including baking, did not affect IF content and the procedure used for bars, in which IF were added to the syrup holding together the cereal flakes, allowed minimal physico-chemical strain to the IF molecules. There were no changes in isoflavonoid concentrations during storage. This study indicates that the production of IF enriched biscuits and cereal based foods is possible and does not present particular technological difficulties. Accordingly, it is possible to supply a western population with IF enriched foods that match their cultural food selections. Isoflavone-enriched Foods : Aspects of Production, Analysis, Sensory Properties and Shelf Life The PHYTOS Project