1

Food Formulation
and Product Development
Shivani Pathania1, Cheenam Bhatia2, and Brijesh K. Tiwari1
1
 Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin, Ireland
2
 Department of Clinical Nutrition, Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Science & Research,
Amritsar, Punjab, India

Summary
Food formulation strategies are key for the product development process. Food for-
mulation is critical in developing new food products along with rising consumer
demand for products with key health and nutritional properties. As it is imperative to
have a clear understanding of various ingredients, their roles, and judicious use of
technologies available, this chapter provides an overview of the book and its rele-
vance for various food formulations.

1.1 Introduction
Formulation is a common term used in various applications, with a fundamental
meaning of placing a range of desired components in an appropriate manner accord-
ing to a predefined formula. Food formulation can be defined as the activity of creat-
ing, designing or developing food products with an objective of providing some
functionality. The functionality can range from providing additional nutritional bene-
fits, to dietary supplementations over and above the basic function of the food. Food
formulation can be perceived as a simple concept if it includes mixing ingredients, and
it could be as complex and stringent as the pharmaceutical processes to regulate the
concentration of highly functional ingredients such as bioactive peptides and fatty
acids. Therefore, food formulation is perhaps one of the most important and critical
steps involved in the new product development (NPD) process. Food formulation
irrespective of the discipline, whether in food production, culinary research and devel-
opment, or formulation of nutraceuticals/pharmaceuticals, requires careful considera-
tion of ingredient selection and the application of technologies, considering consumer
demand and legislative requirements. Food products are made by combining food

Food Formulation: Novel Ingredients and Processing Techniques, First Edition.

Edited by Shivani Pathania and Brijesh K. Tiwari.
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2021 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
2 CH1  Food Formulation and Product Development

ingredients in specific proportions in a formulation. Research on the effects of various

formulations and processes on product qualities is common. However, research is
focused on the effect of either a formulation or a novel processing technique on the
product characteristics. Comprehensive, documented understanding of the trends in
food formulation, its effect on the commercialisation of new technologies, and the
impact of new technologies on formulations is limited.

1.2 New Product Development

NPD and product reformulations have been implemented globally by food processors to
develop novel foods. Novel foods are newly developed, innovative foods produced using
new technologies and production processes, as well as foods which are eaten outside of
their traditional geographical boundary/region. Novel foods could be new sources of a
major food component (e.g. protein, carbohydrate, fibre) or minor food component (e.g.
vitamins, minerals, enzymes), or extracts from existing food or food derived from new
production processes such as UV‐treated foods (milk, bread, mushrooms, and yeast).
New food formulations and processing techniques have been adopted commercially for
better nutrient retention, quality improvement, and shelf life enhancement, and to sup-
port sustainability. Moreover, in recent times, consumers’ attention, interest, and aware-
ness of the health impact of various ingredients, as well as the manufacturing processes
(e.g. thermal treatment) used in formulations, have grown tremendously. Health‐con-
scious consumers have driven the increasing consumption of minimally and alternatively
processed clean label products, which have been shown to fulfil tailored consumer needs
for high‐protein, low‐fat, low‐calorie products. From flavour enhancement and blocking
to formulating for an ageing populace to carbohydrate systems for weight management,
the future focus is on ingredients that promote better overall health. Thus, there is a
requirement for detailed industrially relevant information concerning novel food ingre-
dients and their application in the formulation of novel and health‐promoting food prod-
ucts. In addition, industrial adoption of novel processing techniques is in its infancy;
however, some technologies have seen commercial application.

1.3  Challenges in Food Formulations

Food formulation is a systematic, critical, complex, and commercially‐oriented
research process, and a great number of challenges are faced by the formulators in
finalizing a formulation. Key components associated with the food formulation
include: (i) the identification and selection of raw materials, which is generally based
on the target end product and its use; (ii) the interaction of raw materials at the ingre-
dient level and molecular level, i.e. protein–protein, protein–lipid, etc.; and (iii) the
application of technology depending on food components, target consumer, quality,
shelf life, and cost (Figure 1.1). Cost is one of the most important factors in food for-
mulation. From the price of the raw materials to the cost of manufacturing, everything
needs special consideration. It is important to formulate a product that follows certain
requirements, especially in terms of its pricing. Therefore, a clear process is required to
facilitate the sharing of information, from the raw materials needed to the manufac-
turing technique to the packaging material.
 1.4 Relevance of the Book and Objectives 3

Te
ch
no
lo
gy
Sustainability

Health & Convenience

wellness

Drivers End
Food Formulations
Nutrition
Diet Product
related
diseases

Convenience Food safety

Consumers

nts
edie
Ingr

Figure 1.1  Factors impacting new food formulation process.

1.4 Relevance of the Book and Objectives

Applications of new and innovative technologies, either individually or in combination,
and their resulting effects on ingredients and product characteristics are always of great
interest to academic, industrial, nutrition, and health professionals. With the advance-
ments in novel ingredients, including novel sources of raw material (proteins, starch),
an understanding of the effects of food sources and their processing, as well as the
interactions between ingredients, is critical. This book provides a comprehensive over-
view of novel food ingredients, the role of emerging processing techniques on product
and health benefits, and customized food formulations for targeted populations. It pro-
vides a comprehensive assessment of food ingredients, their interaction, and the appli-
cation of emerging technologies to formulate new food products. The book addresses
three main areas of significant relevance to food and nutraceutical sectors, namely:

i.  Ingredients and their interactions (Chapters  2–5): The first section of the book
consists of a number of chapters covering the basis of a food formulation, i.e.
ingredients. Smart and functional ingredients from plant and animal sources;
healthy ingredients such as replacements for salt, sugar, and phosphate, bioac-
tives, and peptides; macronutrient and micronutrient ingredient interactions.
ii.  Processing techniques (Chapters  6–9): This section outlines the application of
emerging technologies in the processing of new food formulations. New tech-
niques such as 3D printing for tailor‐made, demand‐driven production and prod-
ucts with geometric intricacy is covered (Chapter 6). The role of encapsulation
techniques (Chapter 7), extrusion (Chapter 8), and combination techniques to
improve the flavour and acceptability of functional food ingredients and recent
developments in greener technologies including high pressure, microwave
4 CH1  Food Formulation and Product Development

­ eating, ultrasound, supercritical fluid extraction, pulsed electric fields, ohmic

h
heating, dielectric heating and other emerging technologies are discussed, with
emphasis on the operational principles and inherent strengths and weaknesses of
the technologies (Chapters 8 and 9) from a food formulation viewpoint.
iii.  New trends in food formulation (Chapters 11–12): This section describes recent
trends in the development of food for specific challenges for targeted popula-
tions, food targeting allergies and intolerances (gluten‐free and lactose‐free
products), and prebiotic and probiotic food formulation for gut health.

The final chapters of the book focus on mathematical tools identified to support NPD
and the food formulation process. Chapter 13 covers a wide range of mathematical tools,
ranging from experimental design to consumer studies for the assessment of nutrient
bioavailability, and outlines various examples of studies having different objectives (e.g.
the effect of ingredients on a formulation vs consumer studies and panel studies vs
nutrient delivery) and the mathematical tools utilized in each of them. One of the key
hurdles associated with NPD and any food formulation is the route to market. Key
issues associated with the route to market are regulatory and legislative issues around
the use of ingredients and novel technologies. Therefore, novel and healthy ingredients,
along with the increasing requirement for novel processing techniques for clean label
food products, as well as regulations and legislation are covered in Chapter 14. Hitherto,
this book provides a comprehensive text covering recent advances in food formulation,
and offers the reader a broad review of novel food ingredients and the application of
new processing techniques for advanced food formulations.

1.5 Conclusions
The novel food industry has made significant steps in the last several years, and is pre-
dicted to grow exponentially with product formulations and their nutrition, health, and
wellness applications. This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the ingredi-
ents, their interactions, and the technologies available for developing new products.