Antioxidants in cereal bars and their effect on taste

cereal bars -antioxidants

In today’s society staying healthy by eating a wide variety of vitamin rich foods is the main goal. However eating a wide variety of foods can sometimes be difficult in our on-the-go culture. As a result commercial food companies have recognised this issue and have made an effort to incorporate vitamins, minerals and antioxidants into packaged foods. Antioxidants are molecules that prevent oxidation of other molecules (known as free radicals) which can damage cells and hence aid development of major diseases. Hence the need to include them in our foods has increased greatly.

flavourspec

Cereal bars are a good example where antioxidants have been added to them.  These are popular with consumers that have a busy schedule and want a quick snack that delivers health benefits. In order to create these bars well known cereal companies start with an original recipe and add any new additional ingredients. When new ingredients are added this can alter the desired taste and flavour. A sensory panel is used to  test differences in taste. However this can be time-consuming and expensive. Our FlavourSpec system provides a rapid analytical approach to determine flavour changes. It does this by recognising any changes in flavour profiles of multiple samples.