Nutritional value and acceptability of heme iron microparticles-fortified bread

• Autores: Rengifo, Estefany Deyhanyra, Vela-Paredes, Rafael Segundo, Rios-Mera, Juan D., Cabrera, Felix, Saldaña, Erick, Guerra, Wilson, Arce-Saavedra, Thony, Vásquez, Julia, Vásquez, Jessy, Tello Célis, Fernando
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2025
• Institución: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Chota
• Repositorio: UNACH-Institucional
• Lenguaje: inglés
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.unach.edu.pe:20.500.14142/814
• Enlace del recurso: https://repositorio.unach.edu.pe/handle/20.500.14142/814; https://doi.org/10.1080/19476337.2025.2502533
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: industry; https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#2.09.00

Iron deficiency anemia is a significant global health challenge, prompting the exploration of novel iron fortification strategies. This study investigated pectin microparticles coated with bovine blood as a heme iron source to fortify bread. Four treatments were prepared: control, ferrous fumarate fortified, and bread with 15% and 25% microparticles. The physicochemical characteristics (including iron content and peroxide values), microbial counts, and overall acceptability were analyzed. Results showed that adding microparticles significantly increased the iron content of the bread (7.77 ± 0.05 mg/100 g). Peroxide values remained below 3.43 meq O2/kg extracted fat, and mold counts were within acceptable limits (<10 CFU/g) for all treatments. A 7-point hedonic scale acceptability test in school-aged children (8–12 years) revealed no significant differences among treatments. Therefore, incorporating microparticles containing bovine blood-derived iron in bread offers a promising solution for producing iron-enriched food, providing a potential strategy for improving the health of school-age children.