National Pasta Formulation and Shelf-Life Evaluation of a High Protein Drink for New Health Markets

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National Pasta Corp. (NPC), located in Cambridge Ontario, is a producer of Italian pasta. NPC is launching a new line of "high protein" food products (drinks) for two growing, international, health-conscious market segments; 1) Strength & Fitness; and 2) Senior Healthcare. ****High protein food products fall under the category of functional foods (or "super foods"), in which foods are enhanced to have an elevated nutrient profile for different applications, for example to aid proper diet and weight management, to naturally increase muscle or sports performance, or to manage digestive health or clinical nutrition in older patients. However, balancing the flavour, texture and appearance of a new health food product is challenging because of effect of adding functional ingredients (whey protein isolate, sucrose, erythritol, acetic acid (flavour), ascorbic acid (stability) to enhance the nutritional profile and shelf-life of the product.****The research team at Conestoga College's Institute for Food Processing Technology (IFPT) will conduct experiments to refine the formulation for a high protein drink to optimize the flavour, texture and appearance, fine tune the pasteurization conditions, and evaluate the shelf stability of the pasteurized drinks. National Pasta will benefit through increased sales into fitness and health food sector markets; expansion into a new production facility; and creation of new employment opportunities for production staff. ****