Strategies for the development of food products oriented to people with dysphagia

Abstract

Foods developed for people with dysphagia should have specific rheological/textural characteristics and high nutritional value in order to avoid aspiration, chocking or malnutrition problems in these patients. The objective of this project was to design and develop appropriate food products for people with swallowing difficulties. Various protein-enriched vegetable purees and one cacao dessert were developed. To improve nutritional aspects of these foods, different protein sources and microalgae were used. For the texture optimization, gum-based hydrocolloids (guar gum, tara gum, xanthan gum, and carboxymethylcellulose) and high-pressure processing (HPP) were applied. All the developed products showed a shear thinning behavior with apparent viscosity values meeting the target value (>1750 mPa.s). Moreover, tan 948; values were between 0 and 1, meeting the weak gel structure which is needed in dysphagia foods.

The effect of freezing on rheological/textural properties of ten formulations with protein (casein and pea protein) and hydrocolloids was investigated. Vegetable purees enriched with casein exhibit better post-freezing rheological stability compared to pea protein-enriched ones. Comparative research demonstrates that xanthan gum exhibits greater stability compared to other hydrocolloids in frozen vegetable purees. Regarding HPP treatment, a weak gel structure was formed in the cocoa dessert rich in protein becoming from liquid to semisolid, giving to the product an adequate texture for dysphagia. Additionally, to compare the use of hydrocolloid (xanthan gum) and HPP technology the rheological/textural properties of a vegetable puree with lentil protein were analyzed. The results revealed that HPP treatment and XG are good strategies for developing dysphagia foods. While HPP treatment gave rise to a clean label product with an extended shelf-life, higher G and firmness, samples with xanthan gum showed higher elasticity, have a reduced cost and are accessible to a large part of the industry. To improve the antioxidant capacity and mineral content of dysphagia foods, three types of Chlorella vulgaris were incorporated in a lentil protein enriched vegetable puree obtaining a high nutritional product with minimal impact on rheological/textural characteristics, and 3D printable.