Abstract

The behaviour of the antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and the total phenol content (TPC) of basic foods and convenience foods were analysed along the different steps of food preparation. The major loss of TEAC happens during the processing of convenience foods. A database has been constituted on the TEAC and the TPC of basic and convenience foods, commonly consumed by the French population. It showed that the addition of ingredients with high antioxidant activity to a complex preparation contributes to an increase in the total antioxidant capacity, but not in a proportional way. Differences between expected and measured values are 31 % for two ingredients and 14 % for three ingredients. For the TPC, the increase corresponds to the sum of the TPC of the ingredients. It also showed that microwave reheating and food storage, in most cases, did not lead to variations on TEAC and TPC of convenience foods.

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