Effect of fructans-based fat replacer on chemical composition, starch digestibility and sensory acceptability of corn snacks

P>To develop a convenience healthy food snack the partially hydrogenated vegetable fat, used as the flavour fixative agent, was replaced by a non-fat-flavouring solution enriched with inulin and oligofructose. The effects of this replacement on chemical composition, in vitro rate of starch digestion and sensory acceptability were assessed. The new snack presented low-fat levels (0.1%) and around a sevenfold increase in dietary fibre (15.3% of dietary fibre, being 13.3% of fructans) when compared with the traditional ones. The enrichment with fructans reduced the predicted Glycaemic Index by 25%, thus indicating that this dietary fibre contributes effectively towards delaying the in vitro glycaemic response. Fructans-enriched snack presented overall acceptability score (6.6 +/- 1.7) similar to the traditional one, flavoured with fatty fixative agent (7.4 +/- 1.4). The healthy low-fat fibre-enriched snack produced presented the high sensory acceptability typical for this food product type.