Aroma evaluation of omega-3 fortified biscuits: quality and stability in biobased packaging

Functional foods, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements as part of a controlled lifestyle can provide opportunities to reduce health risk factors and address the need for prevention and control of diet- related chronic diseases to save healthcare resources è [1]. The development of functional foods that address the needs of specific consumer groups (especially infants and the elderly) is motivated by specific market demands and needs [2]. Environmental sustainability is also an important aspect, driven by the design and use of innovative, biodegradable and recycled packaging, but at the same time able to maintain the aromatic and nutritional quality of the product unchanged [3]. The aim of this work is to evaluate the quality and evolution over time of the aromatic fraction of biscuits functionalised with oils enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and packaged in innovative and more sustainable packaging (BB961, NK, NKME, NKPLA). For the characterisation of the compounds contained in the volatile fraction of the biscuits, the technique of online headspace analysis was used in conjunction with gas chromatography with mass spectrometry as a detector (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The analysis of aromatic properties and their stability over time, when packed in different packages, showed that the biscuit recipes formulated with the blend of N6 oils (10% hemp, 90% EVO) are less accustomed to the development of oxidation compounds than those formulated with the N29 blend (20% hemp, 40% EVO, 40%OO) [4-5]. Empty packaging has its own profile of volatile organic compounds, with components such as propylene glycol, acetone and toluene being relatively abundant. Depending on the type of formulation, some packaging have slightly different interactions (NK and NKME). The material BB961 is the least inert of all. It can even be said that this packaging tends to absorb compounds from the biscuit that give it characteristic aromatic notes and instead release compounds that characterise the packaging material. In contrast, the situation is more favourable for the other two packaging. In particular, with the NKPLA packaging, there seems to be a tendency to adsorb those components that can be associated with lipid oxidation of the biscuit.