[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6071\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EManufacturing superfoods \u2013 how science is enhancing healthy food\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhether it\u2019s fermenting olives to stimulate the growth of friendly bacteria, or extracting health-promoting ingredients from rice starch, researchers are delving into nature\u2019s medicine cabinet, and the treatments they have found could help change the way we keep healthy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027Everybody knows that cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes mostly come from eating,\u0027 said Professor Annalisa Tassoni of the University of Bologna in Italy, who coordinates the EU-funded BIORICE project. \u0027People are looking to cure themselves avoiding chemicals.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018When you look in the newspapers, you hear the word natural a lot. Natural depends on how the food is produced. The idea of our process is to not use anything that is not safe for people \u2013 no isolating processes that need solvents or chemicals. We will do it all by physical treatments.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea behind the project is to extract bioactive ingredients such as peptides from the protein by-products of rice starch processing. These can then be used in food, cosmetics and nutraceuticals - foods that provide health benefits beyond their basic nutritional value.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project is now halfway through and currently in the process of examining the peptides that have been already been discovered to identify how they could be used commercially. The next phase is moving from laboratory scale to industry scale.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Tassoni believes that in 20 years\u2019 time, the peptides they have discovered could be used to enhance food. \u2018As an Italian I think we could still eat the good food that we produce but we could also integrate something more,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBacteria\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother group of researchers is looking into how bacteria can help us reap the benefits of the carotenoids found in tomatoes. Carotenoids are known to help prevent cardiovascular disease but they are not resistant to the acidity of the stomach, meaning\u0026nbsp;that in order to get a small amount of carotenoids you need to eat kilos of tomatoes every day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded CaroDel project is developing an efficient way to deliver carotenoids to the lower part of the stomach where they can be absorbed.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Functional foods should not be perceived as a drug.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Massimo Marzorati, coordinator,CaroDel\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The idea of the CaroDel project is that these carotenoids are protected inside the bacteria so the bacteria act as a capsule,\u2019 said Dr Massimo Marzorati, the project\u0027s scientific adviser.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the moment they\u2019re testing how the absorption takes place. In the second year of the project they plan to conduct clinical trials to show that the concept works well.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf they are successful, it means a wide range of foodstuffs could be produced to contain carotenoids protected in their bacteria capsules, potentially allowing those at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease to easily consume their health-protecting properties.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers are also looking at the bacteria found on health foods themselves to find a way of increasing their potency. The EU-funded PROBIOLIVES project has developed a way to produce probiotic olives by fermenting them with probiotic bacteria already found in the olives\u2019 skin or flesh, which can bring health benefits in areas as diverse as the gastrointestinal system, cholesterol levels, the immune system, allergies and inflammatory reactions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is not just a food you add probiotics to, these probiotics come from the original microflora of the product,\u2019 said Dr Chrysoula Tassou, the project\u2019s coordinator.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese research initiatives are just the beginning. The Funcfood project is working to investigate how plant-based ingredients can protect against age-related diseases, while the MAREX project has turned to the sea, screening compounds found in everything from algae to sea anemones and fish for their anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anticoagulant properties.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Functional foods should not be perceived as a drug,\u2019 said CaroDel\u2019s Dr Marzorati. \u2018It\u2019s not that you\u2019re going to take a specific ingredient and the aim is to cure a disease. They are to improve the general health of the body \u2013 trying to eat something that can have a positive effect in your organism and eventually keep you from getting a disease.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-zhvwly381ikjmezjv0wlmbc2uelxzcxf5kffvscsq50\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-zhVWLY381ikJmezJv0WlmbC2uElxzcXF5kFfVScSQ50\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]