Food Quality and Functionality

The growing awareness of the key role of nutrition to human health status has greatly contributed to the spread of a new feeding concept: the functional nutrition. Nowadays, the foods are not exclusively a source of energy for the performance of normal metabolic processes of the body, but also the unique source of bioactive compounds. These compounds contribute to “maximize” the human health status and to “minimize” the risk of occurrence of diseases. The main challenge facing researchers and food industries is to ensure the quality attributes of foods and, simultaneously, to improve the food functionality. The present book chapter give an overview of the scientific studies conducted at the Food Science area of D3A (Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences) with the aim to enhance the quality and the functionality of foods.