title: Olive fruits and vacuum impregnation, an interesting combination for dietetic iron enrichment.
abstract: In this study vacuum impregnation (VI) was employed for the iron enrichment of olive fruits, which are very interesting as food vehicle for VI mineral supplementation for the porosity of their pulp. NaFeEDTA was chosen for olives fortification since it prevents iron from binding with compounds that could hinder it from being efficiently absorbed and since it causes few organoleptic problems. In order to improve the efficiency of the VI process, several parameters of the whole process were studied by design of experiment techniques. First of all D-optimal design was employed for a preliminary screening of the most significant process variables and showed that the concentration of VI solution was by far the most significant process variable, though its time in contact with olives was also significant. A factorial design was then applied to the remaining variables and it showed that the speed of the addition of VI solution was also significant. Finally, the application of a face centered composite design to the three selected variables allowed to detect processing conditions leading to final iron contents of 1.5-3 mg/g, corresponding to an introduction of 10-15 mg Fe with four or five fortified olive fruits. No effect on olive taste was observed at these concentrations. The results showed that olive fruits were the most interesting vehicles for the supplementation of both iron and other minerals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmaceutical and Food Chemistry and Technology, Via Brigata Salerno, 13, 16147 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0496-8583
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zunin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmaceutical and Food Chemistry and Technology, Via Brigata Salerno, 13, 16147 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Turrini
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmaceutical and Food Chemistry and Technology, Via Brigata Salerno, 13, 16147 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmaceutical and Food Chemistry and Technology, Via Brigata Salerno, 13, 16147 Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boggia
keywords: Design of experiment; Enrichment; Iron; Olive fruits; Vacuum impregnation