Functional foods including substances with antioxidative effects

The term functional foods refers to products containing ingredients that may provide health benefits beyond the nutritional function. Consumers today are interested in the information appearing on product labels, and it is important that the information about food composition and nutritional value is clear, accurate and meaningful. In 2003, the European Commission proposed a new regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods, which will specify the conditions for the use of nutrition and health claims, and prohibits certain claims. It should enter into force in 2005.

IRMM participates in a study ‘Current and Future Developments of Functional Foods in the European Union’ within the network of the European Science and Technology Observatory (ESTO), and has compiled a database on standardised analytical methods that could be considered for the analysis of active compounds in functional foods.

Compilation of Standardised Analytical Methods for the Analysis of Active Ingredients in Functional Foods (report) (icon 1210KB )
Annex (extracted from the database)  (icon 781KB )


Melanoidins are a group of substances formed primarily by interactions between carbohydrates and compounds possessing a free amino group, such as amino acids or free specific peptides. This reaction, known as the Maillard reaction, occurs readily during many heat treatments applied to foods and is the cause of non-enzymatic browning, the latter being attributed to melanoidins. The strongly reducing properties of melanoidins make them important radical scavengers, thus behaving as antioxidants. Roasted foodstuffs, such as cocoa are interesting because they are rich in both natural and generated antioxidants.

Work at IRMM aims to elucidate which variety of cocoa beans and fractions thereof have the highest radical scavenging activity. In addition, an investigation is being carried out as to whether or not the reduction of acrylamide by new food processing techniques is beneficial in terms of loss of other compounds, such as melanoidins.



Last Update 10/02/2006