Creating novel foods using modified constituents, such as fat substitutes, offers additional means for developing and using agricultural products. Research is needed, however, to determine the maximum quantity of modified dietary constituents that can be safely eaten and to evaluate the processes used to develop novel foods. New technologies applied to agricultural products offer unprecedented opportunities to respond to consumer demands for healthy diets. New food products can be developed from specialty crops in the Southern Region. Ethnic foods for the Southern population that have a high nutritional quality and safety can be exported to other countries.
Objectives Develop data for food design.
Determine the bioavailability, nutrient interactions, and the impact of food processing to develop the data base needed to design novel foods. Develop new processing methods. Develop new production and processing technologies to incorporate beneficial constituents and to reduce adverse constituents in foods. Assess new foods. Determine the safety, acceptability, efficacy, and nutritional consequences of new and novel foods as they are developed.