Mediterranean raisins/currants as traditional superfoods: processing, health benefits, food applications and future trends within the bio-economy era

Papadaki, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5135-8649, Kachrimanidou, V. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0685-7083, Lappa, I. K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6652-8084, Eriotou, E., Sidirokastritis, N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3160-3045, Kampioti, A. and Kopsahelis, N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1861-0208 (2021) Mediterranean raisins/currants as traditional superfoods: processing, health benefits, food applications and future trends within the bio-economy era. Applied Sciences, 11 (4). 1605. ISSN 2076-3417 doi: 10.3390/app11041605

Abstract/Summary

This review elaborates on the significance of Mediterranean raisins, focusing particularly on indigenous Greek varieties (e.g., Zante currants) as a previously overlooked traditional food, currently brought on the spotlight, resulting from the increased consumers’ awareness to improve wellness through diet modification. Recent studies on the effect of processing steps on final quality, along with findings on the potential health benefits raisins and currants elicit, are also presented. The development of novel functional food products to further exploit the nutritional value and the bioactive compounds of raisins is evidenced in view of indicating potential food industry applications. Moreover, valorization options of waste and by-product streams obtained from processing facilities are also proposed. Conclusively, raisins and currants should be further enhanced and incorporated in a balanced diet regime through the inclusion in novel foods formulation. Evidently, both the processing of the onset material and side-streams management, are essential to ensure sustainability. Hence, the article also highlights integrated biorefinery approaches, targeting the production of high-value added products that could be re-introduced in the food supply chain and conform with the pillars of bio-economy.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/98827
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/app11041605
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items
Publisher	MDPI
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item