The use of fruit powders in extruded snacks suitable for Children's diets

There is increasing concern about the diet of children and its implications for long- and short-term health. This study considered whether different fruit powders could be successfully incorporated into extruded snack products to improve the nutritional profile. Whilst nutritional properties are a key consideration the products need to have satisfactory organoleptic properties as these affect acceptability. To produce extruded snacks of high nutritional and acceptable sensory qualities it is necessary to understand the physical and chemical changes that occur during extrusion. The study investigated the interactions between fruit powders, extrusion process and physical properties and nutritional qualities of the resulting product. Five different samples were extruded using the same process conditions including a solid feed rate of 20 kg/h, moisture of 13% and barrel temperatures of 80 and 120 ºC. Nutritional properties (soluble and insoluble fibre and total antioxidant content) and physical properties (including bulk density, lateral expansion, and hardness) were evaluated. The addition of fruit powder has significant (P < 0.05) effect on expansion and density of the extrudates. Both soluble and insoluble fibre increased substantially after extrusion process while antioxidant levels significantly (P < 0.05) decreased. The resulting products had an improved nutritional profile compared with other extruded snack products being low in fat and sugar and a good source of fibre. The snacks received a good level of acceptance on sensory analysis with the preferred sample scoring 4 and 4 out of 5 for appearance and taste respectively. Further work would investigate the effect of varying the levels of fruit powder and the process conditions and considering how nutritional qualities could be further improved (in particular protecting antioxidants during the extrusion process and fortification with vitamins and minerals).

► Ready-to-eat snacks were produced to suit nutritional profile of children's diet. ► Different dry fruit powders were incorporated into the formulation mix. ► The extruded products contain low level of fat and salt and higher level of dietary fibre. ► Sensory evaluation indicated that the products were highly accepted by the target audience.