Characterization of whole-wheat pasta by product or process markers approach: a bref review

Pasta, a key product in both the Italian tradition and consumption habits, is a food spread worldwide due to its nutritional and organoleptic characteristics. Pasta has been widely studied for its chemical and biological features and, from an economic point of view, to evaluate its impact on market and on consumers choice. Safety and quality of pasta depend on both the raw materials and the manufacturing process used. To define a “total quality” of pasta product, studies on objective parameters, experimental measurable, are necessary to direct the consumer to make a more informed choice. Presently, the interest of many authors is to identify new process and/or product markers, e.g. furosine, that can provide information on the thermal process used and, consequently, that can enhance the quality and safety of the final product. An important consideration aspect is also the study of volatile component; in fact, the aroma has a great influence on consumer acceptability and therefore also on the concept of this total quality. This paper focuses on performed studies on the characterization of the whole wheat pasta, in terms of flavour, antioxidant content and furosine level and basing on previous performed studies.