[Technological challenges and strategies for developing low-protein/protein-free cereal foods for the dietotherapic treatment].

Western countries are finding health care costs to be a continuously increasing financial burden in excess of previous budgetary allocations. Medical nutrition therapies (MNT) have proven to be an efficient cost minimising tool whilst concurrently improving the patient's quality of life. These MNTs are defined as specially processed or formulated foods that are used for the dietary management of patients. Among the medical foods, low-protein/protein-free (LP/PF) foods have been shown to improve the physical manifestation of metabolic disorders in patients with amino acid or protein-related diseases, such as Phenylketonuria, Tyrosinaemia type I, as well as chronic kidney, and coeliac. Most of the cereal-based LP/PF foods currently marketed are a blend of refined or chemically-based food ingredients with unpalatable frequently artificial flavours, having excessive sweetness to mask the chemical taste of ingredients (drug-like approach). However, the adoption of an alternative to convention, such as a food-like approach to developing medical foods, it is a surprisingly complex process. This is specifically true when the technological aspects of LP/PF foods and, in particular, protein-free cereal foods are considered. The primary processing issues arise while trying to replace gluten in baked cereal products. This represents a significant technological challenge, since gluten is an essential structural network-building protein necessary for baked goods. In this article, the suitable food technology challenges and strategies for developing LP/PF cereal foods able to overcome the significant limitations of a food-like approach will be addressed.