High-ash flour is made by a regular milling process and its use as a bread ingredient is expected to enable flavor differentiation from conventional breads at a lower cost compared with whole wheat flour made on a dedicated production line. Liquid and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis showed that the taste and volatile components of bread consistently showed different characters when 20 % or more high-ash flour was used. Addition of high-ash flour increased the amount of compounds that were produced during fermentation and the Maillard reaction. On sensory evaluation, “sweetness” and “saltiness” were selected as terms that describe the characteristics of bread made from regular wheat flour, while “smokiness”, “sourness”, and “harshness” were selected as terms that describe the characteristics of 40 % high-ash flour substituted bread. Because the addition of high-ash flour increased fermentation and Maillard reaction products, it was presumed that these compounds affected the sensory evaluation characteristics of bread with high-ash flour. These results indicated that the flavor components of bread changed significantly when the substitution ratio of high-ash flour exceeded 20 %.

The size of the market in Japan for fruit beverages that contain more than 10% fruit juice as the main ingredient is currently valued at approximately 300 billion yen. The author examined the status of raw fruit juice in Japan, as well as its production and consumption. In addition, changes in research on fruit juice and fruit beverages, and the activities of the Japan Fruit Juice Association, an industry group, are also discussed.

We want to promote the health benefits of fruits by increasing fruit consumption. Findings from studies about the health benefits of fruits are found in the National Institute of Fruit Tree Science and five other institutes, and these studies depended on research funds from the fruit industry. One of the valuable discoveries of those studies is that there are fewer lifestyle-related diseases found in people who consistently eat fruit. Another major finding is that high serum β-cryptoxanthin is associated with lower risk for lifestyle-related diseases (osteoporosis, diabetes, liver dysfunction, metabolic syndrome, and arteriosclerosis) among Japanese subjects. We founded two volunteer associations where we try to think of effective ways to communicate the health benefits of fruits, so that people can understand that fruits are beneficial foods for health and that they will be healthy by eating a lot of fruits. We must absorb carotenoids from fruits because they act as antioxidants against oxidative stress.