# Sorbets as Functional Food Products, Unexplored Food Matrices, Their Challenges, and Advancements
## 2 Functional Food Vehicles
### Sorbet as a Potential Functional Food  
Among the functional products such as breads, berries and vegetables, frozen foods such as sorbets consumed among global populations are gaining attention. Sorbets as a functional food is one commercial method used to provide health benefits, extend food storability, preserve nutrients and provide palatability to the consumer [34; 35]. Specifically, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) classifies sorbets as a frozen water-based dessert that comprise two main ingredients: fruit juice and sugar (among other ingredients) [36].  
Recently, sorbets have been used as a vehicle to deliver compounds to the body. A recent article showed that amaranth proteins could be embedded within the matrix of lemon sorbet as a potential functional protein source to increase bioactive peptides and antithrombotic activity [31]. Likewise, avocado, kiwi, honey melon, yellow melon and  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt}} \hline \hline
**Ingredient** & **Proposed Functional Food** & **Health Claim** & **Ref** \\ \hline Plant sterols and stanols & Margarine & Both plant sterols and stanols appear to lower blood LDL-C when consumed (1.5 to 3 g/day) with foods. & [23] \\ Folate/folic acid & Cereals & The prevention of embryological neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly. & [24] \\ Vitamin D and calcium & Milks and Juices & Fortification of Vitamin D and calcium potentially reduce future health burdens from osteopororotic fractures. & [25] \\ Iodine & Bread & Fortification of iodine in bread products in New Zealand positively contributes to 51\% of iodine intake in developing children with a mean iodine intake of 35 \(\mu\)g/day. & [26] \\ Omega 3 & Eggs & Consumption of omega 3-enriched chicken eggs may provide extended health benefits to consumers by increasing total omega 3 status. & [27] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Note: LDL-C; low density lipoprotein cholesterol.  
\end{table}
Table 1: Selection of functional food ingredients and their proposed health claims in Australia and New Zealand.  
mango sorbets have also been studied with the embedded prebiotic inulin, which ultimately increased the organoleptic and pro-health features of the sorbets [37].  
An Integral part of the development of a functional sorbet is evaluating the stability of the food matrix and the functional ingredient in its storage environment to ensure that the functionality of the target ingredient is not compromised. Several properties of the sorbet must be considered, such as acidity, moisture content and the addition of stabilizers. Furthermore, the release kinetics of the incorporated bioactive is dependent on numerous factors, including food vehicle choice of juice, interaction with other compounds, overcoming absorption problems and the overall toxicity of the functional food ingredient. The addition of functional bioactives can also elicit undesirable flavors and potentially alter the overall stability of the product. Therefore, it is essential to consider the current trends that exist and create techniques to develop a functional food sorbet [38].