Processing was essential for producing foods which were microbiologically safe, had increased nutritional quality and reduced levels of potentially toxic compounds. In many food items, such as baked or roasted products, thermal treatment was indispensable for determining the specific nutritional and sensory properties, in particular texture, flavour and colour. Thermal treatment may have induced the formation of health-promoting components, such as antioxidants and antimicrobial agents, which had not been studied in detail so far. Processing may have also lead to the formation of heat-induced contaminants, such as mutagenic heterocyclic amines and acrylamide, particularly in fried potatoes.
The main objective of the Action was the production of healthier heat-treated foods and to improve knowledge of the beneficial and detrimental properties of newly formed compounds.
