Βιολειτουργικά Τρόφιμα
Date Issued
May 18, 2024
Type
Πτυχιακή Εργασία
Abstract
Advances in the food sector have led to the emergence of a new category of food, identified as functional foods, which are part of the human diet and their consumption offers a variety of health benefits. Functional foods include natural/conventional foods and fortified/enriched foods processed by various techniques to add one and/or more nutrients. Due to the inclusion of bioactive ingredients (e.g. fatty acids, vitamins, plant sterols/stanols, probiotics/prebiotics, etc.), their consumption contributes significantly to human health and well-being, preventing health-threatening diseases (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, diabetes) and strengthening the immune system. This thesis presents the term, the categories of functional foods, and the bioactive ingredients responsible for the functional properties. In addition, examples of functional foods and the benefits they offer to human health and products found in the Greek market are listed. Subsequently, the development processes of functional food are analyzed with an emphasis on bioactive ingredient delivery tools and encapsulation techniques. Finally, the legislative framework in Europe and America according to which a functional product can be accepted and placed on the market is mentioned.
Subjects