The Impact of Heat Treatment on Protein Nutritional Properties

“During heat treatment, protein can change its structure and properties, which can lead to the loss of some of its nutritional properties,” says Olga Dekker. “For example, high temperatures can cause proteins to denature when they lose their tertiary and secondary structures, which can ultimately affect their functionality and digestibility. But depending on the type of product and the heat treatment temperature protein can retain its nutritional properties to a greater or lesser extent. In general, moderate heat treatment of foods such as boiled eggs, meat and vegetables, does not significantly affect the nutritional properties of the protein.