The Institute of Food Research, NARO (NFRI) conducts a broad range of food research from basic to applied, in order to realize a safe and healthy dietary life, provide appropriate scientific information on foods to the public, and contribute to the g
on on foods to the public, and contribute to the governmental policymaking for foods and development of the food industry.
Specifically, we conduct not only basic research and state-of-the-art technological development but also research that meets the ever-changing social needs, focusing on the following 3 research areas, with the mutual cooperation of the 3 research divisions.
Study on the three functionalities of agricultural products and foods (nutritional functionality, palatability and physiological functionality) and the development of technology for their effective utilization.
Development of technologies to ensure the safety, credibility and quality of agricultural products and foods.
Development of distribution and processing technologies with the aim to maintain or improve the quality and functionality of agricultural products.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Japanese have had the highest average life expectancy worldwide since 2000. The Japanese diet is a nutritionally balanced diet, consisting of rice as a staple food and various side dishes made from fish, meat, milk/dairy products, vegetables, seaweed, beans, fruits, tea, and other ingredients. The diet has been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease-related mortality (1). Our systematic literature reviews aimed to clarify the health function of food components commonly consumed in Japan and expand the market of fresh and processed foods as Foods with Function Claims.
Under the food business operator's responsibility, Foods with Function Claims can be labeled with function claims based on scientific evidence in Japan. Evidence of the safety and effectiveness of the food product is submitted to the Secretary-General of the Consumer Affairs Agency before the product is marketed to the public. The scientific evidence for the proposed function claims must be explained by one of the following methods: clinical trial with a finished product (equivalent level of study required for Foods for Specified Health Uses); or a systematic literature review on a finished product or functional substance. However, unlike Foods for Specified Health Uses, the product is not individually pre-approved by the Secretary-General of the Consumer Affairs Agency (2). We conducted systematic literature reviews on functional substances for Foods with Function Claims to support food business operators (https://www.naro.affrc.go.jp/org/nfri/yakudachi/sys-review/index.html, in Japanese). These reviews are in accordance with "Guidelines on Notification of Foods with Function Claims" (3) issued by the Consumer Affairs Agency. Our reviews were adopted by numerous food business operators in their submission of relevant details regarding their products for the notification of Foods with Function Claims to the Secretary-General of the Consumer Affairs Agency. Two of our systematic literature reviews (on procyanidins in apples and quercetin) and some chapters including a commentary on systematic literature review in "Guidelines on Notification of Foods with Function Claims" translated into English are presented below.
National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) has found that it is possible to create crunchy paste-like food by using cabbage core that have been dried and pulverized to adjust the size of the grains and has confirmed the conditions under which it can be created using a 3D food printer. By this not only we can take in the nutrients and functional ingredients of the cabbage core, which is a discarded part, but also by utilizing the firmness as a new means of expression of texture, we can expect to reduce food loss that occurs when producing cut vegetables.
The cabbage core accounts for about 15% of the fresh weight of a head of cabbage, but because it is harder than the edible part of the leaves, it is often cut off during processing and discarded. Even in the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2020 (8th revision), the core of cabbage is positioned as a discarded part. On the other hand, discarding cabbage core, which contain dietary fiber, nutrients such as vitamin C, and functional ingredients such as chlorogenic acid, is also considered as food loss. Until now, cabbage core, which is easily perishable, have been processed into a fine powder and added to various dishes in order to utilize them while retaining their nutrients and functional ingredients. However, when it is pulverized, it loses the texture of fresh food, which limits its applications.
Therefore, in this research, we aimed to manufacture 3D printed food, which is attracting attention as a next-generation food processing technology, and developed a new usage method for expanding demand for cabbage core. First, we prepared a dry coarse powder with a particle size of less than 1 mm from the cabbage core and examined the easiness of crushing after absorbing water. By making this coarse powder into a paste and extruding it from the tip of a syringe (nozzle inner diameter of 8 mm), we were able to obtain a rod-shaped molding with a rough surface. Furthermore, by mixing with soft materials such as fine powder derived from cabbage leaves and adjusting the amount of water, we found that even with a nozzle with an inner diameter of 2 mm, which is used in 3D food printers, it is possible to extrude without cutting in the middle.
Conventional 3D-printed foods made from finely powdered vegetables tend to be in the form of a soft paste, which limits the range of food textures that can be expressed. By controlling the crushing conditions for ingredients such as cabbage core and broccoli stems that are too hard and have been discarded during the production of cut vegetables, it is expected that it will be possible to add a rich texture such as chewing sensation to next-generation foods such as 3D printed foods. In the future, while expanding the range of next-generation food processing using this coarse powder, we plan to accelerate the practical application of this new material by collaborating with cut vegetable manufacturers.
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