Vacuum impregnation: A novel nondestructive technique for the development of functional foods

Abstract

Increased consumer awareness for health-positive foods has accompanied the faster pace development of functional foods. Meeting the objectives, various innovative methods are there in food industry to customize the functional qualities of food. Vacuum impregnation (VI), an osmotic treatment, is a novel and nonthermal method of introducing porous matrices of fruit and vegetables with desirable fortificant solution without affecting organoleptic properties. With the unique convenience of incorporating both the process of osmosis and diffusion during VI application, it has a wide application in fruit and vegetable processing industries. Current chapter provides process details of the vacuum impregnation in comparison with osmotic dehydration and their application in food industries. Furthermore, the importance of VI technique with future gaps has also been delved into so that the same technology can further be explored commercially with resolved technical constraints.