Nutrition and Obesity Prevention 

Biography

Biography: Liana C Salantă

Abstract

Carbonated drink consumption has become a highly visible and controversial public health and public policy issue. Due to increasing consumer awareness of the importance of healthy nutrition, the market for functional, natural and non-alcoholic beverages is steadily increasing all over the world. Malt is a product made by limited germination of cereal grains, mostly barley, followed by drying of the grain. Malting process, which involves soaking, germination and drying, aims to change grains into malt with high enzymes and vitamins content. Juices are perceived as healthy and as a good source of fortification. This study aims to develop and characterization a new type of beverages based on malt and fruit juice. Conventionally, malt drink production involves the use of similar raw materials, machinery and procedure as in beer brewing, without fermentation. The beverages were obtained using Pilsner malt and fruit juices obtained by cold pressing. The technological process consists of two operations obtaining malt wort and mixing it in different proportions with fruit juice. The beverages were pasteurized and evaluated by the content of bioactive compounds and microbiological parameters during storage (1-6 months). In order to characterize the new products, several physicochemical analyses were conducted, the antioxidant capacity, vitamin C, polyphenols, proteins and sugar content. During storage, there was a slight decrease in bioactive compounds. The functional beverages were organoleptically eva­luated and had a sweet taste, a unique flavour and a very pleasant smell. This product targets all categories of consumers and represents an ideal snack for those who are concerned about a healthy lifestyle.