​Puffed snack is junk food?

First of all, let's first understand the definition of junk food, high fat, high calorie, and high salt. The raw materials of puffed food are mainly beans, cereals, and potatoes. The main ingredients are carbohydrates and protein, and contain high dietary fiber. Therefore, it is incorrect to blindly label them as "junk food".

Puffed food is conducive to the utilization of coarse grains. Coarse grains have been rejected by many people because of their poor taste. However, the nutritional value of coarse grains is very high. Especially when people eat too much refined white rice and noodles, the appropriate intake of coarse grains not only plays the role of providing timely help, but also making things better, it increases people's intake of dietary fiber, increases the intake of trace elements and a variety of minerals, and plays an extremely important role in strengthening physical fitness and preventing diseases. The structure of coarse grains changes during the puffing process and becomes loose and swollen. The Maillard reaction generated during the puffing process increases the color and flavor of the food, which is a model of fine preparation of coarse grains.

The food proteins, fats and carbohydrates produced by the puffing technology are extruded and denatured, from macromolecular substances to small molecular substances, forming a porous structure, which is conducive to digestion and absorption, which also changes the disadvantage that coarse grains are relatively difficult to digest and absorb. The protein-rich plant materials are extruded and expanded at high temperature for a short time, the protein is completely denatured, and the tissue structure becomes porous, which is beneficial to contact with human digestive enzymes, thereby improving the utilization and digestibility of protein; products are not easy to produce Retrograde phenomenon. In the process of storage of cereals, retrogradation is a common problem. Due to retrogradation, the taste of the product becomes rough and the digestibility is greatly reduced.

The puffed food has been fully cooked after being extruded at high temperature, and it can be eaten conveniently without heating. The puffed food has been treated with high temperature and high pressure to kill microorganisms and bacteria, the enzyme activity is inactivated, and the water content drops below 10%, which is very conducive to preservation and storage. Puffed food is also conducive to the preservation of nutrients in the food. For example, after rice is puffed, the preservation rate of vitamin B1 and B6 in it is about 1/5-2/3 higher than that of steamed rice. Moreover, the puffed food is sterilized by high temperature and high pressure, which is more in line with hygiene requirements.