Inicio / Historico

A UGR group studies the loss of aminoacids in the storage of infant cereals with milk

In these scientific works of the University of Granada, supervised by Professors Belén García-Villanova and Eduardo Guerra Hernández, a flurimetric method to determine aminoacid losses in cereals with powdered milk used by children older than four months, during their preservation in different temperature and water activity conditions.

To be used in the feeding of children, cereals suffer a starch hydrolysis, a process carried out in a watery environment that requires a later drying of the product to go on sale. This thermic drying processing produces aroma and flavour, but it can reduce the nutritional value as some vitamins and aminoacids disappear “although sometimes the industry compensates these losses once the product is finished, adding the vitamin pool ”, Belén García-Villanova points out.

It has been observed that a greater water activity produces gretaer aminoacid losses after four weeks of storage in all the samples. Researchers have used the time that Abbot has these products stored estos to carry out microbiological control studies. At the habitual storage temperatures losses are very small and that is why “the final quality of the product is not threatened.”

Four sample levels
The Department of Nutrition and Bromatology of the UGR has used some indicators that irrefutably show aminoacid losses in cereals stored for three, six, nine and twelve months. The method, started by Antonio Ramírez Jiménez and recently published in the journal Food Chemistry, “is at the industry disposal to control such lysin loss reactions after the preservation of cereals with milk”, Guerra Hernández explains.

The collaboration of this group with the Abbott industry dates from 1993 with the start of a method to measure hidroximetilfurfural, a compound sensitive to the common toasting temperatures of infant cereals during their processing (140-150º C). At present, García-Villanova and Guerra Hernández are working to apply this method in infant formulas used to substitute mother´s milk, as well as in honeys and ingredients to make other foods.


Reference:
Prof. Belén García Villanova. Phone number: 958 243866 – 647 765314. E-mail: belenv@ugr.es
Prof. Eduardo Guerra Hernández. Phone number: 958243867- 609 32 83 19. E-mail: ejguerra@ugr.es