Biotechnology to Improve Shelf Life and Quality Traits of Foods - Food Shelf Life Stability: Chemical, Biochemical, and Microbiological Changes - page 349

shows some of the investigations being carried out with plants in order to improve
shelf life and quality of their products. 4,54,75,134 Nowadays the recombinant DNA
technology is being used and the genetically engineered plant food products are
being approved as GRAS (generally recognized as safe). In a few years, with the
improvement of plant transformation and regeneration technologies, one will find
in the market fruits and vegetables with better color and flavor and extended shelf
life, and legumes and grains with a nutritious message and functional properties.

N UTRACEUTICAL F OODS

A nutraceutical is any substance that is a food or part of a food that provides medical
or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of diseases. 135 Such prod-
ucts may range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and specific diets to
genetically engineered designer foods, herbal products, and processed foods such
as cereal, soups, and beverages. It is important to note that this definition applies to
all categories of foods and parts of foods, ranging from dietary supplements such
as folic acid, used for prevention of spina bifida, to chicken soup, taken to lessen
the discomfort of the common cold. 136 This definition also includes a bioengineered
designer vegetable food, rich in antioxidant ingredients, and a stimulant functional
food or pharmafood. The idea of health-filled foods is, of course, not new. The
modern message probably took root in the soil of the nutrition evaluations of the
1950s and the “back to nature” revolution of the 1960s. The nutraceutical revolution
may lead us into a new era of medicine and health, in which the food industry might
become a research-oriented one similar to the pharmaceutical industry. 15,137-139
Genetic engineering holds the promise of a brave new world in which foods can be
tailored into nutraceuticals that provide not only a better overall nutritional profile,
but address specific medical conditions in both preventive and therapeutic capacities.

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2. Floros, J. D., The shelf life of fruits and vegetables, in Shelf Life Studies of Foods

and Beverages, Chemical, Biological, Physical and Nutritional Aspects, Charalam-
bous, G., Ed., Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1993, 195.

3. Beck, C. I. and Ulrich, T., Biotechnology in the food industry, Bio/Technology, 11,

895, 1993.

4. Knight, P., Engineered fruit and vegetable crops, Bio/Technology, 7, 1233, 1989.

5. Anon., Plant biotechnologists tell AAAS meeting of transforming corn, cotton, Bio-

technol. Newswatch, 9, 5, 1989.

6. Erickson, D., Science and business: hot potato. Will safety questions curb public

appetite for gene-spliced food? Sci. Am., 267, 118, 1992.