Abstract (eng)
Breakfast is often considered the most important meal of the day and in spite the most commonly omitted one. In order to profit from the various health benefits of a regularly consumed breakfast, the choice of food is crucial.
The aim of this thesis is the assessment of the nutritional profiles of 27 breakfast cereals based on the D-A-CH reference values (2015) for energy and nutrient intake for children aged between 7 and 10 years.
In Addition, differences between crisp cereals and cereal flakes in terms of their nutritional profiles are determined.
Data analysis was done using Excel 2016 (Microsoft, Richmond, WA, USA). The calculated energy and nutrient values per serving cereal, prepared with different milks or milk alternatives, were compared with the minimum and maximum reference value for each nutrient.
The results show only minor differences between the two cereal groups regarding their energy and carbohydrate content.
Cereal flakes outperform better regarding their content of fat, saturated fatty acids, sugar, dietary fiber, protein and salt compared to crisp cereals.
The recommended breakfast intake of 25% of the reference value of daily intake is exceeded by more products with girls compared to boys. Regarding sugar, saturated fatty acid and fiber content, the 25% mark is exceeded more often in the girls group.
Based on the results of the nutritional assessment, recipe proposals have been drafted for three different cereal flakes with either different cereals, fruits/vegetables or cocoa/nut ingredients. Calculations were done based on the nutritional database BLS 3.02.
Regarding fat, fatty acid, protein and fiber content, the new developed breakfast cereal „apple-carrot” performed best within the three optimized products. Regarding sugar and salt content, the new flake mixture has the best nutritional profile. A flake mixture served with fresh seasonal or frozen fruits can be recommended as an optimal meal for breakfast.