Development and Quality Evaluation of Cereal Based Nutribars

Nutribars were introduced in the last decade as a wholesome alternative product when consumers showed more interest in health and diets. The aim of this study was to develop nutribars using cereal flakes, dehydrated fruits, nuts and functional ingredients. Nutribars were prepared in 24 different combination based on jaggery honey mix and glucose syrup in which cereal flakes formed the main ingredient. Nutribars prepared using glucose syrup had comparatively better mean scores for different quality attributes than nutribars prepared with jaggery honey mix. The chemical and nutritional qualities were observed with moisture (10.20 to 12.50%), protein (5.47 to 7.16%), fat (4.48 to 4.98), fibre (0.36 to 1.43%), starch (49.8 to 79.2%), total sugar (36.47 to 42.98), reducing sugar (21.61 to 31.22%), thiamine (0.376 to 0.668 mg/100 g), calcium (48.06 to 74.50 mg/100 g), iron (5.10 to 6.44 mg/100 g), sodium (157.8 to 311.2 mg/100 g), potassium (129.51 to 198.47 mg/100 g) and zinc (0.815 to 1.037 mg/100 g). Microbial contamination and peroxides were not detected in the products. This study revealed the potential of nutribars as an energy dense nutrient rich wholesome food for different age groups.