The impact of bee product incorporation on the processing properties, nutritional value, sensory acceptance, and microbial stability of bread

Abstract

Consumers are making their lifestyle healthier by changing diet, so food producers are exploring the enrichment of daily products using natural additives with nutraceutical properties. The addition of bee products is a good example, enabling a positive input in nutrients at the same time that the phytochemical substances present on it, may add complementary bioactive functions. This study centred on formulating recipes for traditional bread, incorporating bee products such as bee pollen and bee bread. The fortified breads revealed a coherent increase on protein and lipid content, while the fibre value depends on the type of bee product added. The enrichment seems also to induce changes in the physical properties, with the fortified breads becoming yellow-brownish colour and firming, due to the increase in the protein content, at the same time that some reduction in elasticity is observed. The sensorial perception, tested to assess the market product acceptability, gave encouraging outcomes with high scores for bee bread enrichment. It is relevant to highlight that the recipes used can be classified as “low salt content” bread, with salt values below 130 mg/100 g.