A proposed food breakdown classification system to predict food behavior during gastric digestion

The pharmaceutical industry has implemented the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), which is used to classify drug products based on their solubility and intestinal permeability. The BCS can help predict drug behavior in vivo, the rate-limiting mechanism of absorption, and the likelihood of an in vitro-in vivo correlation. Based on this analysis, we have proposed a Food Breakdown Classification System (FBCS) framework that can be used to classify solid foods according to their initial hardness and their rate of softening during physiological gastric conditions. The proposed FBCS will allow for prediction of food behavior during gastric digestion. The applicability of the FBCS framework in differentiating between dissimilar solid foods was demonstrated using four example foods: raw carrot, boiled potato, white rice, and brown rice. The initial hardness and rate of softening parameter (softening half time) were determined for these foods as well as their hypothesized FBCS class. In addition, we have provided future suggestions as to the methodological and analytical challenges that need to be overcome prior to widespread use and adoption of this classification system. The FBCS gives a framework that may be used to classify food products based on their material properties and their behavior during in vitro gastric digestion, and may also be used to predict in vivo food behavior. As consumer demand increases for functional and "pharma" food products, the food industry will need widespread testing of food products for their structural and functional performance during digestion.