Nutritional Properties of Ready-to-Eat Pasta Salads: Effect of Processing and Storage Conditions

Nutritional properties of ready-to-eat meals can vary greatly during storage due to the complexity of their food matrix. The nutritional properties of two types of ready-to-eat pasta salads differing in the processing of one of their ingredients (bell pepper) were evaluated during 12 days of storage at 4 and 12C. Salads with cooked (C) or uncooked (UC) red bell pepper were analyzed for proximate composition, dietary fiber content, lipid profile, ascorbic acid degradation kinetics and in vitro digestion of starch; rapid digestible starch and predicted glycemic index were also calculated. Results showed that vegetable processing significantly affected the ascorbic acid degradation, starch hydrolysis, as well as the fat and energy content of the salads. Nutritional properties of commercially available ready-to-eat pasta salads may significantly differ between manufacturers depending on the processing applied, storage temperature and time after production, and thus this should be seriously considered when evaluating their health implications. Practical ApplicationsDespite the convenience and ease of preparation of ready-to-eat meals, consumers should be aware that health benefits claimed by some ingredients included in these products might be lessened by the storage conditions (time and temperature), type of processing and interaction with other constituents of the product. This work provides food manufacturers with an in depth insight on how these factors can affect the nutritional properties of their products and lead to foods that can retain the full potential of their nutritional qualities. More research regarding the health implications of the consumption of ready-to-eat foods is encouraged.