NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES OF READY-TO-EAT PASTA SALADS: EFFECT OF PROCESSING AND STORAGE CONDITIONS

摘要

Nutritional properties of ready-to-eat meals can vary greatly during storage due to the complexity of their food matrix. The nutritional properties of two types of ready-to-eat pasta salads differing in the processing of one of their ingredients (bell pepper) were evaluated during 12 days of storage at 4 and 12C. Salads with cooked (C) or uncooked (UC) red bell pepper were analyzed for proximate composition, dietary fiber content, lipid profile, ascorbic acid degradation kinetics and in vitro digestion of starch; rapid digestible starch and predicted glycemic index were also calculated. Results showed that vegetable processing significantly affected the ascorbic acid degradation, starch hydrolysis, as well as the fat and energy content of the salads. Nutritional properties of commercially available ready-to-eat pasta salads may significantly differ between manufacturers depending on the processing applied, storage temperature and time after production, and thus this should be seriously considered when evaluating their health implications.