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Understanding Lipid Oxidation In Low-Moisture Food, Leann M. Barden

Doctoral Dissertations

Low-moisture snacks account for much of the saturated fat in the diet, making them a key target for improving consumers’ health. However, it is not currently feasible to maintain the same shelf life when replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats in these products. The first study characterized the microstructure of a low-moisture cracker model system and determined the impact of iron, chelators, and free fatty acids (FFA) on lipid oxidation kinetics. Confocal microscopy showed that lipids form a continuous layer surrounding the small and/or minimally gelatinized starch granules. Lipid-starch, lipid-air, and starch-lipid-protein interfaces all existed. Oxidation studies showed a large …