PRODUCTS OF

PROCESSING
FTO-101
Need for Weaning Foods
• Poor mineral consumption in the first year of a child’s life is the cause of numerous diseases, such as
anaemia, osteoporosis, rickets and immunological diseases
• Infant cereals enriched with certain antioxidants are often beneficial for combatting deficiency
related diseases in infants.
• During the weaning process infant cereals with good aromas should be used to stimulate the baby’s
appetite in addition to increasing their nutrition intake.
• Traditional foods given complementarily usually contain lower nutrient levels. Malnutrition at this
critical stage leads to ill effects on growth, health and development.
• Thus, fortified and manufactured baby foods are necessary to achieve an adequate diet, and are
especially important for children vulnerable to malnutrition.
• Additionally, the use of manufactured baby foods may reduce cooking times and the levels of
pathogenic micro-organisms, as well as preventing the inactivation of enzymes and antinutrients.
• This also improves the convenience, digestibility, taste, and nutritional quotient of foods
Cereals for Infant Foods
• Infant cereals are defined as “processed cereal-based foods” that are divided into:
1. Simple cereals which are or have to be reconstituted with milk or other appropriate nutritious
liquids
2. Cereals with an added high protein food which are or have to be reconstituted with water or
another protein-free liquid.
• In many countries, infant cereals are among the first foods that are introduced at the beginning of
the complementary feeding period.
• Cereal-based baby foods include barley, corn, millets, oats, rice, rye, sorghum or wheat.
• Cereal-based foods meet these requirements contain appropriate nutrients such as proteins, ω-3
and ω-6, vitamins A, C and D, calcium (Ca), iron and Zn, as well as several others depending on the
ingredients contained in the baby food.
 Cereals as Weaning Foods
• Cereals are an excellent source of energy, which is very important at the age of six months when
exclusively breastfeeding is no longer sufficient to cover the nutritional requirements of the infant.
• Cereals provide a substantial amount of carbohydrates (starch and fiber) and proteins, but are also a
source of vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, and are an optimal vehicle for iron fortification.
• Cereals provide non-digestible carbohydrates, which are mainly responsible for the development of an
‘adult-like’ microbiota by increasing the Bacteroides population.
• During weaning, clear changes in the infant’s gut microbiota have been observed upon the addition of
either wheat, sorghum, rice, or oats into a large intestine in vitro, and a higher proportion of complex
carbohydrates in infant cereals has been shown to lead to a higher fermentative activity of the intestinal
microbiota of infants aged six to 10 months in vivo.
• Cereals have a mild taste and a semi-solid texture and consistency, which is adequate for the transition
from milk toward the acceptation of solid foods at the beginning of complementary feeding.
 Recommended nutritional transition of
infants from baby formulas to solid foods
Whole Grain Cereals for Weaning Foods
• All grains are made up of three parts: the multi-layered outer fibre-rich bran, the micronutrient-rich
and lipid-rich germ, and the starchy endosperm.
• While in whole grains, all components of the grain are still present (80–85% endosperm, 10–14%
bran, and 2.5–3% germ), refined cereals consist only of the endosperm .
• The highest proportions of compounds such as fibers, vitamins, minerals, and other phytochemicals
are found in the bran and germ of the grain.
• Several biological compounds have been described in whole grain cereals with interesting
physiological functions (e.g., immune system stimulation, cell signaling and/or gene regulation,
antioxidant, anti-inflammatory) and potential protective mechanisms (e.g., diabetes, cancers,
cardiovascular diseases).
Whole Grain Cereals for Weaning Foods
• Major bioactive compounds in whole grain are vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals including
phenolics, carotenoids, vitamin E, lignans, β-glucans, inulin, resistant starch, sterols, and phytates .
• Although these bioactive compounds are present in whole grains in general, some bioactive
compounds are specific to certain cereals such as
• γ-oryzanol in rice,
• avenanthramide, avenacosides, and saponins in oats
• β-glucans in oats and barley
• alkylresorcinol in rye.

• Dietary fibers (e.g., β-glucans, arabinoxylans, resistant starch, and inulin) are a major contributor to
several health benefits, are removed during the refining of cereals.
• Therefore, processing whole grain cereals to refined cereal products leads to major losses of these
protective compounds, as they lack the bran and germ fractions
Allergies and Other Negative Effects
of Cereal-Based Baby Foods
• Allergies in corn-based products are mainly due to the protein present, e.g. lipid transfer proteins
can cause some allergies. Other potential allergens present in corn-based products are stored
proteins and the corn pollen present in the grains.
• Corn-based baby products can thus trigger allergic reactions such as allergic rhinitis and eczema
which have the following symptoms: anaphylaxis or asthma, diarrhoea, headaches, hives,
indigestion, nasal congestion or drip, nausea, skin rash, sneezing, stomach cramps or vomiting.
• A corn-based diet can lead to Pellagra in babies. Pellagra is nothing more than a deficiency of
vitamins, mainly niacin, in the baby’s body.
• Sorghum may also provoke some allergic reactions. Mature sorghum is mandatory for the
manufacture of baby food products, since immature sorghum is poisonous due to the presence of
hydrogen cyanide.
• Hydrogen cyanide affects the respiratory and digestion systems, and if ingested in large quantities
can cause respiratory failure and even death.
Allergies and Other Negative Effects
of Cereal-Based Baby Foods
• Barley can also provoke allergic reactions with symptoms such as hives, inflammation, irritation and
rashes, as well as the swelling of the arms, eyelids, eyes, legs and nose, or even anaphylaxis.
• The severe allergic disease caused by barley is known as Bakers’ Asthma, and can block or even
break a baby’s oesophagus, making it difficult for them to swallow food.
• The excessive consumption of barley-based baby foods can also reduce the amount of sugar in the
bloodstream, resulting in hypoglycaemia.
• Oats are sometimes difficult for babies to swallow or chew, and poorly chewed oats may block the
intestine. It can also cause allergic reactions such as diarrhoea, eczema and hives, as well as
respiratory problems and vomiting.
• Millets contain goitrogen, a chemical compound which interferes with the function of the thyroid
hormones by inhibiting Iodine absorption by the thyroid gland, thus leading to goitre which causes
anxiety, depression, dry skin and slow thinking.
Rice Grits Wheat Grits

Corn Grits Barley Grits

Corn grits Corn flour Corn bran flour
Nixtamalization of Grits
• The nixtamalization process is commonly utilized in the
production of tortillas and other related maize-based food
products.
• The maize kernels/grits are cooked with alkali (i.e. lime) and
steeped in the cooking water with subsequent washing, at least
twice, ensuring the removal of any remaining organic components
and excess alkali.
• Nixtamal is the product obtained after this process, and it is
subsequently ground to produce soft masa flour.
• The alkaline water of nixtamalization partially dissolves the corn’s
hard skin (the pericarp), allowing the grain to take up water much
more quickly and grind much more easily.
Commonly Sold Grits
Stone-ground:
• These are made from whole, dried corn kernels that are coarsely ground in a mill.
• Has a short shelf life and takes 30–60 minutes to cook on the stove.
Hominy (Nixtamalized grits):
• Made from corn kernels soaked in an alkali solution to soften the tough pericarp (outer shell or hull).
• Pericarp is rinsed and removed, and the corn kernels undergo further processing to make hominy.
Quick and regular:
• Undergo processing which involves removing the pericarp and germ (nutrient-rich embryo),
• Fine ground and have a longer shelf life.
Instant:
• Pre-cooked, dehydrated grits with both the pericarp and germ removed.
Isolates and Concentrates
• Isolates are the most refined form of protein products containing the greatest concentration of
protein but contains no dietary fibre. Concentrates on the other hand contain carbohydrates along
with protein.
• Due to their colour, flavour and functional properties, they are ideal raw ingredient used in
beverages, infant foods and children milk food, textured protein products and certain types of
specialty foods.
• Protein isolates have been developed from a variety of legumes among which are soy bean, peanut,
canola, cashew nut, almonds, sesame, pinto and navy beans.
• Vegetable protein concentrate and isolate sources include peanut protein, soy protein, wheat
proteins, Almond protein, canola meal protein etc.
• Most vegetable proteins require processing to retain acceptable functional properties such as
emulsification, oil and water absorption, texture modifications, colour control and whipping
properties, which are primarily attributed to the protein characteristics.
• Common isolates include soy, peanut, cashew, canola and chick pea.
Peanut and Soy protein isolate
• Peanut contains 26-29% protein with good nutritional quality.
• Peanut proteins are used for their functional properties (emulsification,
forming) or for their nutritional properties in different food products.
• They are also used for human nutrition in developing countries to
supplement cereals, beverages and skim milk.
• Peanut protein isolate can be prepared from the defatted peanut cake or
powdered by macerating with high salt phosphate buffer followed by
centrifugation and supplementing the supernatant with (NH4)2SO4 to
90% saturation.
• Soy protein isolates has high protein content of about 90%. It is made out
of defatted soy meal by removing most of the fat and carbohydrates.
• Soybean is crushed into oil and defatted meal. The meal is usually used as
animal feed, while smaller amount is further processed into food
ingredients including soy flour, protein concentrate, protein isolates and
textured protein.
Protein Fractionation
Nuggets/Chunks
Low-cost protein foods/protein meals
• Oilseed cakes and meals are the residues remaining after removal of the
greater part of the oil from oilseeds. The residues are rich in protein and most
are valuable feeds for livestock.
• Canola meal (CM), cottonseed meal (CSM), peanut meal (PM), soybean meal
(SBM), and sunflower meal (SFM) are some of the more commonly used
oilseed meals.
• The protein content of these meals is higher than the original oilseed. The oil
content of oilseed meals is related to the type of processing used to extract the
oil.
• Protein content of oilseed meals is typically standardized through the addition
of hulls and may be lower than the whole oilseed in some situations.
• The degree to which protein is degraded in the rumen varies according to
amount of heat applied to process the meal.
• Other processes and treatments are used commercially to reduce ruminal
protein degradation of these meals and improve animal performance.
 Low-cost protein foods/protein meals
• The high temperature and pressures of the expeller
process may result in a lowering of digestibility and in
denaturation of the protein with a consequent lowering
of its nutritive value.

• The high temperature and pressure also reduces most

of the deleterious substances which might be present
in oilcakes such as gossypol and goitrin.
• Some seeds such as groundnut, cottonseed and
sunflower have a thick coat or husk rich in fibre, and of
low digestibility which lowers the nutritive value of the
material. It may be completely removed by cracking and
riddling a process known as decortication.