Recent Parameters and Techniques used for Assessing the Nutritional Quality of Foods-A Review

Abstract

Feeding the world’s growing population requires great quantities of food and accurately measuring the quality of
that food is vital to sustained personal and economic health. Food quality testing is necessary to monitor and control
quality parameters throughout the fresh produce supply chain to meet consumer demands and extend shelf life. A
good and balanced-diet consists of all the nutrients required for the metabolism, viz., carbohydrates, protein, oils
and fats, minerals and vitamins in right proportion as per the needs of different age groups. Cereals such as rice,
wheat, maize and barley and millets provide protein and energy, while pulses and oilseeds are the rich sources of
protein and energy, respectively. The diets based on cereals and pulses are generally deficient in one or the other
nutrient. Protein-calorie malnutrition is wide spread among majority of population in developing countries. In
order to effectively control protein-calorie malnutrition, it is essential to know the nutritional requirements as well
as nutritive quality of various food grains. The presence of various anti-nutritional factors like proteolytic enzyme
inhibitors, polyphenols, phytic acid and lathyrogens in cereals and pulses can result in impaired growth or produce
acute and lethal effects and also reduce the availability of otherwise good proteins in the diet. The presence of
excessive amounts of fibre and tannins (polyphenols) in cereals might be responsible for their reduced digestibility
and lower biological value. Likewise, the quality of oil is also an important area concerning human health. The
oilseed like mustard may have abnormal content of erucic acid or glucosinolates. Therefore, nutritional evaluation
of food stuffs becomes important for ensuring good and healthy diet.