Application of Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Fruit in the Composition of a Novel Snack Bar.

Salam A Ibrahim,Sulaiman O Aljaloud,Stanko Stankov,Hafize Fidan,Galin Ivanov

doi:10.3390/foods10050918

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possibilities for using date fruit from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the formulation of a novel snack bar while replacing the used honey with date paste. The technological, textural, microbiological and sensory qualities of the obtained food products were evaluated during storage for 12 days after their production. Date palm fruit in the form of date paste was used as an ingredient in the composition of the new snack bars that also included nuts and dried fruits. Five formulations were prepared: a control bar, snack bar with 40% date paste, snack bar with 50% date paste, snack bar with 60% date paste, and snack bar with 70% dates paste. The resulting date paste’s textural characteristics supported the bonding potential of the food system and gave a sweet taste to the final product. The formulations containing 50% date paste presented the highest overall acceptability and were the formulation with the best sensory characteristics. Thus, the addition of date paste in snack bars would be a good option to develop a functional product that contributes to rational nutrition principles. The obtained values in the current study confirmed the technological and functional potential of date fruit as a product that can find adequate application in the composition of foods with functional properties.

Highlights

Accepted: 20 April 2021Changing eating habits and increased consumer demand for healthy foods with functional components increased the interest in improving many well-known food products’nutritional characteristics
The results from the current study demonstrated that date paste can be used in the development of nutrition bars as healthy snacks
A technological model was created to improve the textural and sensory parameters of snack bars obtained with the addition of date paste

Summary

Introduction

Accepted: 20 April 2021Changing eating habits and increased consumer demand for healthy foods with functional components increased the interest in improving many well-known food products’nutritional characteristics. Changing eating habits and increased consumer demand for healthy foods with functional components increased the interest in improving many well-known food products’. The words “healthy or functional food” have become mandatory criteria for many consumers when they purchase food. Flavorful food with excellent organoleptic characteristics is no longer adequate as it must be nutritious. The modeling of food formulations with a view to their marketing application in the diets of targeted cohorts of consumers has resulted in a significant impact on the economic feasibility of food products. Snack bars are popular with people around the world, and product preferences are often linked to health-related claims, package attributes, price and flavor [2]. The variety of nuts, seeds, soluble, and insoluble dietary fiber in the bars’ composition allows their easy adaptation to a rational diet as a source of slowly digestible carbohydrates [4], micro-and

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