What is Food Matrix?
In nutrition term; the food matrix contains several compounds – macronutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and micronutrients such as vitamins & minerals. Other complex compounds are found in certain food items; just depends on what you’re eating. Joseph from foodaidquality.org defines it as follows, “The food matrix can be defined as the nutrient and non-nutrient components of foods and their molecular relations to each other (USDA NAL Glossary, 2015). Consequently, it is of
utmost importance in food product research to develop a detailed understanding of the time-dependent transient changes in the structural aspects of food matrices from raw material harvesting to product processing, to the point of breakdown during shelf life, consumption and final digestion. Understanding the mechanism of processing or breakdown and absorption or the bioavailability of nutrients from ingested food is an important aspect while designing functionally-superior foods rather than looking at foods from the nutritional content point of view.” For example, vegetables and fruits have external factors such as the soil which they grow in. This affects the final product of the food. A cucumber bought from QFC doesn’t taste the same as the one found at the farmers market. This in turn can give a change in the nutrient availability for your body. So, we have to look at the whole picture of the food item – planting, soil, processing, packaging, and final delivery to the customer. As you can see, food matrix deals with a lot of internal and external factors. The example shown in Journal of Food and Function provides an example of food matrix, the whole picture, and how the body absorbs nutrients based on the food item eaten.
Living Well In The 21st Century 