Tackling obesity: A knowledge-base to enable industrial food reformulation

In seeking to tackle obesity and metabolic disease, research on reformulating ultra-processed foods has intensified in recent years. Despite numerous publications, information on reformulation may not be accessible to many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), because they are generally low-tech with little budget for research and development. This paper presents the development of a knowledge-base that illustrates a holistic approach to food reformulation to provide SMEs with practical information on successful methods to reduce sugar and fat from existing products. This knowledge-base uses recent findings in food reformulation, assesses and evaluates outcomes and presents them in an industrially relevant context. The knowledge-base (which is demonstrated on a working example of sweet American-style muffins) identifies the readiness of various reformulation techniques for industrial application by indicating the consequences of different techniques of reformulation on a products’ nutritional profile, acceptability, quality and processability. Adhering to the sequential process described ensures that processed foods are reformulated using healthier alternatives, comply with food legislations and are suitable to be used on an industrial scale.