Food system advances towards more nutritious and sustainable mantou production in China

Mantou, a traditional Chinese food, is widely consumed in the North China due to its nutritional value and good mouth-feel. However, its current family-style production is impeded due to short shelf-life caused by mold and starch retrogradation. The current packaging and storage methods are not efficient enough for mantou preservation. Recently, a novel, hot online package technology has attracted attention due to its high processing efficiency and low cost. Most importantly, by using this methodology, secondary contamination by microbes can be avoided and starch retrogradation can be markedly delayed, with mantou shelf-life under room temperature extended from a few to at least 90 days without any additives. In this review, the mechanisms of mantou quality deterioration are explained and the advantages of hot package technology addressed and compared with other packaging methods, such as frozen chain storage. In this way, not only wheat, but also other grains (including whole-grains) and ingredients may be mantou constituents, to enhance nutrition of traditional mantou. There is now a technological opportunity for mantou to become a more nutritious, sustainable and affordable foodstuff in local communities.