Processing and Vitamins and Minerals

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Processing and Vitamins and Minerals
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Effects of Processing on Vitamins and Minerals

• Effects depend on the sensitivity of the vitamin
  or mineral to
• heat
• oxygen
• pH
• light
• Vitamin content more likely to be affected by
  processing than is mineral content.

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Specific Effects of Processing

• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
• Decrease during storage, drying, heating,
  oxidation, and chopping/slicing
• Stable to heat under acidic conditions
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
• Destroyed by high temperature, neutral and
  alkaline conditions
• Lost in cooking water
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
• Sensitive to light at neutral and alkaline
  conditions
• Moderately heat stable under neutral conditions
• Sensitive to heat under alkaline conditions

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Specific Effects of Processing

• Vitamin B3 (niacin)
• Most stable vitamin
• Stable to heat and light
• Leaches in cooking water
• Folate
• Decreases with storage and prolonged heating
• Lost in cooking water
• Destroyed by using copper utensils
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
• Heat stable in alkaline and acidic conditions
• Vitamin B12
• Destroyed by light and high pH

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Specific Effects of Processing

• Carotenes
• Easily destroyed by heat
• Destroyed when exposed to heat and light
• Vitamin A
• Easily destroyed by heat
• Vitamins D and E
• Oxidize when exposed to heat and light

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Additives

• Perform useful functions in foods.
• Vitamins and minerals added to many foods, to
  make up for those lacking in a person's diet or
  lost in processing.
• Such fortification and enrichment has helped
  reduce malnutrition among the U.S. population.
• All products containing added nutrients must be
  appropriately labeled.

B-3.02 -- Processing and Vitamins and Minerals
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Enrichment

• Adding one or more nutrients already present in a
  food in lower than desirable amounts.
• Examples include
• Bread -- enriched with B vitamins lost in the
  processing of white flour.
• Enriched flour -- pasta, tortillas, and any
  products made with enriched white flour are also
  enriched foods.

B-3.02 -- Processing and Vitamins and Minerals
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Fortification

• Adding significant quantities of a nutrient not
  originally present in a food or present only in
  nutritionally insignificant amount.
• Examples include
• Low fat and non-fat milk -- fortified with
  vitamin A
• Orange juice fortified with calcium
• Salt -- fortified with iodine
• Milk -- fortified with vitamin D
• Cereals and fruit juices often fortified with
  vitamins and minerals

B-3.02 -- Processing and Vitamins and Minerals