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Nutritional Quality of Commercial Fruit Baby Food

Authors:
Helena Čížková at University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague
Helena Čížková
Rudolf Sevcik at University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague
Rudolf Sevcik
Ales Rajchl at University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague
Ales Rajchl
M Voldřich
M Voldřich
M Voldřich
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Abstract and Figures

Commercial fruit baby food is a preserved fruit product usually made with fruit purees, sugar, water and variable additives (thickening agents, antioxidants, etc.). As the foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses, baby foods for infants and young children conforms to a set of strict guidelines e.g. maximum levels for pesticide residues, microbiological contamination, addition of additives, labeling, etc. However, being an important supplement to children diet and/or for their progressive adaptation to ordinary food, the nutritional quality of commercial fruit baby food in very important. Ten samples of commercial fruit baby food from the market were analysed for the fruit content, ascorbic acid and total polyphenols content and total antioxidant capacity determined by DPPH method. Hydroxy methyl furfural (HMF) and furfural content were followed as the time-temperature effort indicators. The method for the estimation of fruit content in products was based on the concentration of glucose, fructose, sorbitol, potassium, formol number, malic and citric acid, phosphorus, ash and refractive index and the results were compared with the Code of practice of AIJN and literature sources. The study indicates that there are big differences in composition and quality of commercial fruit baby food, whereas some samples contain fruits only, another products are diluted with significant amount of sugar, water and starchy fillers.
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S134
Vol. 27, 2009, Special Issue Czech J. Food Sci.
Nutritional Quality of Commercial Fruit Baby Food
H. ČÍŽKOVÁ*, R. ŠEVČÍK, A. RAJCHL and M. VOLDŘICH
Department of Food Preservation and Meat Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology
in Prague, 166 28 Prague, Czech Republic, *E-mail: helena.cizkova@vscht.cz
Abstract: Commercial fruit baby food is a preserved fruit product usually made with fruit purees, sugar, water and
variable additives (thickening agents, antioxidants, etc.). As the foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses,
baby foods for infants and young children conforms to a set of strict guidelines e.g. maximum levels for pesticide
residues, microbiological contamination, addition of additives, labelling, etc. However, being an important supplement
to children diet and/or for their progressive adaptation to ordinary food, the nutritional quality of commercial fruit
baby food in very important. Ten samples of commercial fruit baby food from the market were analysed for the fruit
content, ascorbic acid and total polyphenols content and total antioxidant capacity determined by DPPH method. Hy-
droxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural content were followed as the time-temperature effort indicators. The method
for the estimation of fruit content in products was based on the concentration of glucose, fructose, sorbitol, potassium,
formol number, malic and citric acid, phosphorus, ash and refractive index and the results were compared with the
Code of practice of AIJN and literature sources. The study indicates that there are big differences in composition and
quality of commercial fruit baby food, whereas some samples contain fruits only, another products are diluted with
significant amount of sugar, water and starchy fillers.
Keywords: fruit puree;, quality; fruit content; authenticity, antioxidants
INTRODUCTION
There is much evidence that the quality and
composition of commercial fruit baby food may
contribute to present and future health benefits
of young children. Since infants between 6 month
and 3 years of age are rather limited in their food
choices, the commercial fruit baby foods serve as
the important source of energy, basic nutrients,
fiber, vitamins and minerals and establish their
taste and eating patterns. Whereas food safety
of baby food from the view of chemical pollution
and microbiological contamination is a prior-
ity for both producers and state authorities, the
composition and nutritive quality of products are
often underestimated.
Nutritive value of baby food deeply depends
on the composition, what raw materials are used
and what are the proportions of fruit or vegetable
content. Apart as the supply of energy (from sug-
ars and polysaccharides) the fruit baby food are
perceived as the fiber, ascorbic acid, polyphenols
and other antioxidants sources based on the fruit
(vegetable) content and composition (B &
M 1994; M et al. 2001; W et al.
2004). The other important factors affecting the
nutritive value are conditions of processing and
all parameters which could cause the reduction
of nutrients in products, such as oxidation, non
enzymatic browning, the effect of contaminants
(metals, migrants from packaging, etc.). These
reactions are usually affected by heating, therefore
the heat damage during the blanching, boiling,
pasteurisation or sterilisation, storage conditions
during the retail, etc. are important for the nutri-
tive value of baby food as well.
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Czech J. Food Sci. Vol. 27, 2009, Special Issue
The aim of this work was to compare declared
and real (measured) values of selected nutritive
parameters to asses potential adulteration and/or
differences between brands. The analyses were
focused on the determination of authentic fruit
content, identification of sugar and other additives
addition, evaluation of the processing on the main
quality indices, namely, contents of antioxidant
and time–temperature effort indicators.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Samples. Ten f ruit baby foods indented for
younger infants were purchased in 2008 in Prague
and represent five main trademarks sold in the
region. The names, fruit flavor and quality declara-
tions are given in Table 1 in the alphabetical order.
One apple or pear single-fruit product and one
colored multi-fruit product were chosen from each
producer. All of the samples were on the beginning
or the first third of their expiration dates.
Method s. Determination of chosen chemical
markers were performed according to the IFU
methods (by International Federation of Fruit Juice
Producers), ash content by gravimetry (IFUMA
09), titrable acidity (IFUMA 03), formol number
by titration (IFUMA 30), phosphorus by specto-
photometry (IFUMA 35), ascorbic acid by HPLC
(IFUMA 17A), sucrose, glucose, fructose and sor-
bitol by HPLC (IFUMA 67). Content of potassium,
citric acid and malic acid were determined by capil-
lary isotachophoresis with conductivity detection
(Vet al. 2002). HMF and furfural were
determined by HPLC method. Total polyphenols
determined by spectrophotometry and total an-
tioxidant activity by DPPH assay were performed
according to K et al. (2009).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In recent times ready to eat fruit based baby
products have become more and more popular,
combining the advantages of the traditional home
made fruit purees with the benefit of a convenient
preparation and assurance of safe and nutritional
composition. According to ingredients lists of ten
analysed samples, in addition to a certain amount
of fruit (usually the most expensive part of raw
material), majority of these products consist also
of sugars, organic acids and artificial thickening
agents (Table 1).
Composition of samples, real fruit content,
evaluation of undeclared additives addition
Consumer acceptance of fruit baby foods is based
on the content and composition of the fruit used
Table 1. Declared composition of 10 fruit baby foods
Producer Fruit flavor Composition per 100 g of product Declared fruit
content
Hallo strawberries fruit content 85 g (apple puree, strawberry puree 20%), water, sugar,
modified starch E 1442, ascorbic acid 85
apples apple puree (85%), water, sugar, modified starch E 1442, ascorbic acid 85
Hamé
bilberries bilberry puree (20%), apple puree, water, sugar, corn modified starch
E 1442, citric acid, ascorbic acid 35
apples apple puree (60%), water, sugar, corn modified starch E 1442, citric acid,
ascorbic acid 60
Hami bilberries apple puree (71%), bilberry puree (20%), apple concentrate, rice flour,
ascorbic acid (min. 15 mg) 91
apples apple puree, ascorbic acid (min. 15 mg) 100
Hipp pears pear puree (50%), pear juice (46%), rice flour, rice starch, ascorbic acid 96
plums plums (50%), water, sugar, rice flour, rice starch, ascorbic acid 50
Sunárek
strawberries
and peaches apples (58%), strawberries (20%), peaches (16%), apple concentrate (6%) 100
apples apples 100
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Vol. 27, 2009, Special Issue Czech J. Food Sci.
in their production. The most of the recent works
that evaluate the quality of fruit purees or fruit
baby products come out from the confirmation of
declared and real composition and identification
of undeclared sugar, other fruit types and organic
acids addition (F et al. 2005). For the evalua-
tion of fruit content the traditional approach based
on the asses of range of components that appear
in the fruit over a relatively narrow range such as
ash, phosphorus, titrable acidity, formol number,
potassium, malic acid and sorbitol was used. The
several analytes had to be determined to obtain
an accurate estimation of the fruit content, which
allows some cross-checking between the various
parameters to be made and detection of any dis-
tortion caused by the adding of sucrose, syrups,
citric acid or other additives into the products. The
mean values of AIJN Code of Practice (1999) and
Food Composition and Nutrition Tables (S
et al. 2000) were used for the calculation of fruit
content after the withdrawn of outliers. Figure 1
presents the declared and estimated contents
of fruit in our samples of baby fruit foods. The
differences between the estimates and declared
values varied slightly, usually within the relative
error of calculation (15%) and only one (No. 8) of
the analysed samples failed to contain the fruit
content declared on the label. However, some of
the samples were found to contain undeclared
additives (sweeteners in samples 1 and 6, citric
acid in samples 2, 3, 4 and 6 and ascorbic acid in
samples 6 and 7).
Antioxidants and antioxidant activity
and time temperature effort indicators
The range of total antioxidant capacity by DPPH
assay was large among different fruit flavors (Ta-
ble 2). Of all the samples, berries and plums have
the highest content which is in agreement with
high antocyanin concentration. Also the single
antioxidants composition of samples was rather
variable. The concentration of total polyphenols
varied from 414 to 1452 mg/kg. Content of ascorbic
acid, which was in the majority artificially added
and declared as antioxidant , was ranged from
186–550 mg/kg.
The formation of furfural and HMF via non-
enzymatic browning reaction is often used as the
indicator of time-temperature effort within the
production and storage and their increase indi-
cates degradation of essential nutrients, ascorbic
acid decomposition and pigment destruction.
The most of the samples fulfill the recommended
maximum HMF concentration in fruit juices and
purees 20 mg/kg according to the AIJN Code of
Practice (1999) (Table 2).
The study indicates that there are big differences
in composition and quality of commercial fruit baby
food, whereas some samples contain only fruit, an-
other products are diluted with significant amount
of sugar, water and starchy fillers or enriched of
declared or undeclared sweeteners and organic
acids. That corresponds with the wide range of
measured antioxidant activity of samples, which
Table 2. Antioxidants (polyphenols, ascorbic acid, total antioxidant activity) and time-temperature effort indicators
(furfural and HMF) contents
Sample No. Total polyphenols
(mg of gallic acid/kg)
Ascorbic acid
(mg/kg)
Total antioxidant capacity
(mg gallic acid/kg)
Furfural
(mg/kg)
HMF
(mg/kg)
1 485 333 229 2.7 4.9
2 1028 327 163 2.3 18.6
3 780 354 387 3.3 17.0
4 1452 345 395 2.8 4.1
5 770 239 353 2.2 28.9
6 966 327 264 2.2 9.5
7 704 354 397 2.6 14.0
8 1068 555 475 2.1 14.9
9 1005 400 460 2.1 23.1
10 414 186 187 3.0 10.4
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Czech J. Food Sci. Vol. 27, 2009, Special Issue
mostly depends, in the case of fruit based products,
on ascorbic acid, polyphenolic compounds and
carotenoids concentration. The nutritive value
closely correlates with the fruit content in baby
food, the highest antioxidation capacity as well
as the content of antioxidants was found in the
samples with higher fruit content.
Acknowledgements: Supported by the Ministry of Education,
Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (Projects MSMT
2B06118 and MSMT 6046137305).
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Figure 1. Comparison of declared
and according to experimental data
calculated fruit content
0
50
100
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SampleȱNo.
Fruitȱcontentȱ(%)
Declaredȱfruitȱcontentȱ(%)
Calculatedȱfruitȱcontentȱ(%)
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Quality and authenticity control of fruit purées, fruit preparations and jams - A review
Article
Adulteration of foods is a serious economic problem concerning most food commodities, in particular fruit products. Since high-priced fruits command premium prices, producers of fruit-based products such as juices, jams, jellies, purées, and fruit preparations might be tempted to blend these products with cheaper fruits. In addition to admixtures of adulterants, the labelled fruit contents may not be met. Both types of adulteration are difficult to detect and lead to a deterioration of product quality. For consumer protection and to avoid unfair competition, it is of essential importance to guarantee both authenticity and compliance with the product specification. While approaches for the detection of fraudulent admixtures to fruit juices have extensively been reviewed, the objective of the present treatise is to provide an overview of the approaches so far suggested to detect and even quantify adulterations of the above-mentioned fruit products.
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The key role of grape variety for antioxidant capacity of red wines
Article
  • Feb 2009
Background & aims: Recent epidemiological studies have supported the idea that food rich in plant bioactive compounds and polyphenols in particular may exert beneficial effects toward human health. One of the foodstuffs widely distributed in the human diet is red wine, a strong antioxidant that contains many bioactive compounds, such as: polyphenols, minerals, and vitamins. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the antioxidant capacity, total phenolics, selected vitamin and mineral content in red wine samples and also to elucidate the existence of a possible relationship between grape variety and all constituents of wines as mentioned above. Methods: The set of 10 red wines, six of Cabernet Sauvignon and four of Merlot was subjected to the study. In all samples total antioxidant capacity was measured by Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay and the Ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assay simultaneously with total phenolic content, selected minerals and essential vitamins. Results: Both antioxidant capacity and phenolic content were higher in Cabernet Sauvignon wines compared to Merlot. The total antioxidant capacity correlated positively with total phenolic content (r = 0.88, p < 0.001 for TEAC assay and r = 0.89, p < 0.001 for FRAP assay respectively), while a significant relationship among antioxidant capacity, selected minerals and vitamins was not observed. Among the nine minerals analyzed, potassium, zinc and magnesium were the most abundant elements distributed throughout all wine samples. Our results suggest that antioxidant capacity is dependent mainly on total phenolics. Grape variety largely determines such components as phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and mineral content with the exception of vitamins.
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Comparison of Dietary Fiber Contents of Selected Baby Foods from Two Major Brands in Canada Using Three Methods
Article
  • Sep 2001
Of the two major brands of baby foods in Canada, one reports lower dietary fiber values than the other, although the products appear to be similar. To investigate the reasons for this discrepancy, seven selected samples of baby foods from both brands were analyzed for total dietary fiber (TDF) according to the Mongeau (rapid Health Protection Branch; HPB) method. Two cereals were also analyzed by using the Prosky and the Englyst (nonstarch polysaccharide; NSP) methods as an internal check on the methodology as well as a means of investigating the reasons for the discrepancies. The sampling included at least four different lots of each product (cereals, fruits, vegetables, and legumes). Each lot was analyzed individually. The TDF values determined using the rapid HPB method were in agreement with those obtained by other dietary fiber methods. Comparison between manufacturer-reported and measured values showed that the low values reported in brand A products were due, in part, to under-reporting of TDF content: measured TDF values were significantly higher than manufacturer-reported values. For brand B products, the manufacturer-reported and measured TDF values were in general agreement. This shows that a large part of the discrepancy between the two brands was due to methodological problems associated with measuring TDF in brand A. Differences in TDF content were also apparent as shown by the fact that brand A TDF values were consistently lower than those of brand B when both were measured by the same method. The differences in TDF content were not explained by differences in the polysaccharide composition of the fiber residues or by differences in water content. Although the limited number of samples does not allow any general conclusion about the TDF content of specific brands, the results show that formulation and/or manufacturing differences may influence TDF values in processed baby foods.
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Lipophilic and Hydrophilic Antioxidant Capacities of Common Foods in the United States
Article
  • Jun 2004
Both lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities were determined using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC(FL)) assay with fluorescein as the fluorescent probe and 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride as a peroxyl radical generator on over 100 different kinds of foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, dried fruits, spices, cereals, infant, and other foods. Most of the foods were collected from four different regions and during two different seasons in U.S. markets. Total phenolics of each sample were also measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Hydrophilic ORAC(FL) values (H-ORAC(FL)) ranged from 0.87 to 2641 micromol of Trolox equivalents (TE)/g among all of the foods, whereas lipophilic ORAC(FL) values (L-ORAC(FL)) ranged from 0.07 to 1611 micromol of TE/g. Generally, L-ORAC(FL) values were <10% of the H-ORAC(FL) values except for a very few samples. Total antioxidant capacity was calculated by combining L-ORAC(FL) and H-ORAC(FL). Differences of ORAC(FL) values in fruits and vegetables from different seasons and regions were relatively large for some foods but could not be analyzed in detail because of the sampling scheme. Two different processing methods, cooking and peeling, were used on selected foods to evaluate the impact of processing on ORAC(FL). The data demonstrated that processing can have significant effects on ORAC(FL). Considering all of the foods analyzed, the relationship between TP and H-ORAC(FL) showed a very weak correlation. Total hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant capacity intakes were calculated to be 5558 and 166 micromol of TE/day, respectively, on the basis of data from the USDA Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (1994-1996).
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