Food processing technology as a mediator of functionality. Structure-property-process relationships

During the last years, the food industry has been facing technical and economic changes both in society and in the food processingpractices, paying high attention to food products that meet the consumers´ demands. In this direction, the study areas in food process andproducts have evolved mainly from safety to other topics such as quality, environment or health. The improvement of the food productsis now directed towards ensuring nutritional and specific functional benefits. Regarding the processes evolution, they are directed toensure the quality and safety of environmentally friendly food products produced optimizing the use of resources, minimally affecting oreven enhancing their nutritional and beneficial characteristics. The product structure both in its raw form and after processing plays animportant role maintaining, enhancing and delivering the bioactive compounds in the appropriate target within the organism. The aim ofthis review is to make an overview on some synergistic technologies that can constitute a technological process to develop functionalfoods, enhancing the technological and/or nutritional functionality of the food products in which they are applied. More concretely, theeffect of homogenization, vacuum impregnation and drying operations on bioactive compounds have been reviewed, focusing on the structure changes produced and its relationship on the product functionality, as well as on the parameters and the strategies used toquantify and increase the achieved functionality.