Food Biofortification Technologies

Biofortification, which can be defined as the process of increasing the content/density of essential nutrients and/or its bioavailability of food with valuable compounds, is a promising means of increasing nutrient intakes. Traditional fortification practices in which exogenous nutrients are added to food can increase the content of nutrients but the use of biofortified foods with nutrients also may deliver the compounds in a more available form, as well as boost the overall relative effectiveness of these foods in raising nutrients status. Food Biofortification Technologies presents the state of the art in the field of novel methods of fortification and agricultural treatments as a way to improve the quality of obtained food products or compounds enriched with valuable nutrients. The book deals with fortification methods and agricultural treatments, which can improve the quality of food products or other agricultural compounds, providing them with a higher density of valuable nutrients. The utilization of novel products, such as feed additives and fertilizers, can avert nutrients depletion in food products. The book describes new and conventional methods of introducing valuable compounds into food components and presents the application of biosorption, bioaccumulation, and utilization of fertilizers in obtaining designer food. Attention is paid to the use of biomass as the carrier of nutrients such as microelements into the food components. The chapters are dedicated to specific food products and their nutrient components. The first chapter discusses the agronomic biofortification with micronutrients where the fertilization strategies are pointed out as a key to plant/cereals fortification. Other chapters present the fortification of animal foodstuffs such as meat, fish, milk, and eggs as well as the fortification of plant foodstuffs such as vegetables, fruits, and cereals. The book also explores advances in food fortification with vitamins and co-vitamins, essential minerals, essential fatty and amino acids, phytonutrients, and enzymes.