Food: Healthier and more nutritious snacks thanks to PROMEDLIFE project

Healthy, nutritious, and tasty crisps, yogurt, and bars are some of the new snacks created as an alternative to so-called "junk food" by the international PROMEDLIFE project, which aimed to promote the Mediterranean Diet as a healthy, sustainable, and accessible dietary model.

 The project, in which ENEA acted as partner, combined scientific research, technological innovation, and concrete local actions to promote informed food choices and healthier lifestyles in five Mediterranean countries (Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Tunisia, and Morocco).

 During PROMEDLIFE, advanced production processes and more sustainable agricultural practices were tested, capable of improving the nutritional and environmental quality of the supply chains involved. Educational interventions and awareness campaigns were also conducted.

 "The development of new food products was made possible by the application of innovative technologies in both food processing and agronomic practices," commented Gianfranco Diretto, ENEA project coordinator and head of the GREEN Biotechnology Laboratory. "To achieve this result," he adds, "we started with plant varieties that are the basis of typical Mediterranean diet foods, diverse in the five countries involved. Subsequently, the varieties with the greatest interest in terms of their health-promoting molecules were selected and enhanced through the production of snacks that were both commercially attractive and nutritionally valuable, for example, without added sugars and without the use of frying oils."

 Following these principles, researchers developed tomato crisps with oregano, produced using a series of vacuum-packed technologies that preserve the organoleptic characteristics, preserving the integrity of the beneficial molecules. Another product developed was a saffron yogurt, processed using a special technology with high antioxidant properties—nano-encapsulation—that reduces the degradation of the molecules responsible for color, taste, and aroma, with positive effects on eyesight. Furthermore, date, cocoa, coconut, and cashew bars were developed using innovative technologies that produced a date syrup high in antioxidant molecules (flavonoids) and low in sugar. By avoiding the use of refined oils, researchers also produced a special amlou cream (typical of Morocco and composed of argan oil, almonds, and honey), with the aim of increasing its popularity in other Mediterranean countries.

 As part of the PROMEDLIFE project, ENEA researchers worked on the development of high-quality saffron using vertical and smart farming technologies. "We focused on metabolomic characterization, by profililng the chemical composition of all the pro-nutritional molecules in the tested ingredients, analyzing different varieties and selecting those with the best nutritional characteristics. We then also created the chemical profile of the snacks so achieved," Diretto continues.

 The entire project wasn't designed to remain confined to laboratories. In fact, the developed snacks were submitted to various consumer panels for evaluation and subsequently manufactured by partner companies that applied the research findings.

 "Mediterranean countries are experiencing dietary and nutritional changes that impact the health of their inhabitants, while also generating numerous socioeconomic and environmental challenges. PROMEDLIFE provides ideas, tools, and concrete products that can be enhanced and expanded even after the project's conclusion," concludes Diretto.