Scientists from the Center for Research and Development in Food Cryotechnology (CIDCA-Conicet) develop healthy cookies as an alternative to the consumption of ultra-processed foods of low nutritional quality. The snack will be based on amaranth, chia, wheat and chickpea flour, and tomato powder. The objective is to create a healthy food for the consumer that contains proteins, fibers, vitamins, prebiotic molecules, bioactive peptides, polyphenols with antioxidant effects and lycopene.. The initial tests have already been carried out and it is expected that the product will be on the market before the end of the year.
Argentina registers one of the highest consumption of cookies and biscuits worldwide. According to different statistics, in the country we eat between 9.5 and 12 kilos per person each year. Although it is not one of the main exporters, yes It is among the top ten that produce the most volume on the entire planet. In turn, in a mixture of cultural habits and facilities for preparation, the balance tips in favor of sweet cookies over salty ones.
The problem is that these cookies and biscuits are ultra-processed, that is, they many chemical processes are involved in its preparation (preservatives, dyes and flavorings, among others) and its nutritional quality is low: contain sugars, fats, cholesterol and sodium in excess.
Its daily consumption is associated with a greater risk of the appearance of non-communicable diseases, metabolic risk factors such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes; as well as chronic kidney disease, cancer, and heart and cerebrovascular diseases. In this sense, the enactment of the Healthy Eating Promotion Law in 2021, better known as the Frontal Labeling Law, plans to help consumers recognize this type of food and warn about its consumption.
Faced with this situation, CIDCA specialists design a dry snack-type cookie that is not only healthy, but also delicious and appetizing for the palate. This way, the researchers propose a food that helps prevent some of the diseases that ultra-processed foods promote.
For example, amaranth provides protein and peptides -protein fractions that have antitumor and antihypertensive properties-, chia adds protein, antioxidants, unsaturated fatty acids and fiber, chickpea and wheat flour are also a source of protein, and powdered tomato incorporates antioxidants, vitamins, fibers and lipids.
Once finished, the product will be transferred to the Don Campostrini company to manufacture it on an industrial scale and market it. The idea is that the useful life of the cookie in the gondola is six months.