Nowadays, veganism is becoming increasingly popular, because health concerns are usually the primary reason why people turn to vegan diet. The aim of the study was to identify the supply of vegan products on the Latvian market by analysing the ingredients used in the production of the products, nutritional and energy value of vegan products. 192 vegan products made in 20 different countries and available in online stores that offer their goods on the Latvian market were analysed. The research was carried out from January to March 2020. Information on the country of origin, ingredients, nutritional and energy value of the products was taken from product labels. The majority of the vegan products in Latvian online stores come from Germany. The most important ingredient in the production in product groups such as meat substitutes and dairy alternatives is soya (Glycine max.), which provides high protein content. The vegan products could not be characterized as low in fat, as the average fat content in the various product groups ranged from 7.9±1.7 to 19.7±3.3 g 100 gE−1 of product, except beverages. The average energy values for all product groups varied between 210.7 kJ 100 mLE−1 for beverages and 1226.0 kJ 100 gE−1 for snacks. There would be a need for everyday vegan products in the Latvian market, as most of the products are snacks at the moment, and legumes should be used as ingredient in the production of new vegan products with increased nutritional value.

The effect of some ingredients on stability of butter during its storage time has been investigated in order to better evaluate the functionality of confectionery. The research established that butter does not contain enough free fatty acids, derived as a result of hydrolysis, to decrease the number of mould and group of Enterobacteriaceae, but they hinder the growth of yeast and aerobic mesophilic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms. The quality of the products can be provided and propagation of microorganisms can be hindered by the comounds that are not traditional preservatives, such as vanilin and glucose syrop. A 10% glucose syrup additive worked as the facilitator of the development of microorganisms because it increased growth of aerobic mesophilic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms, 50% of glucose syrup additive worked as the procrastinator of the development of microorganisms.

Iron deficiency is a common problem especially among children, women of reproductive age and sportsmen. Addition of highly bioavailable iron to foods could be one possibility to enrich daily diet and increase iron absorption. At present moment, there is a limited number of fortified products with iron in the market. Fortification of common food products is an effective strategy to prevent or overcome iron deficiency. The results show a significant increase of iron in products supplemented with bovine alimentary albumin. Comparing fortified products with non‑fortified control samples of chocolate snacks the iron content increased from (1.17 – 2.61) to (10.15 − 11.53) mg 100 gE-1 in products supplemented with bovine alimentary albumin. By developing a successful recipe of fortified food products, animal origin heme iron could be applicable component and satisfy sensory acceptability from consumers. The aim of this work was to create an alternative sweet product as healthy snack with incorporated highly bioavailable heme iron which may be an addition to daily diet with nutritional properties and accepted by consumers.

Nowadays, different sun protective creams are available in the market, but most of them contain harmful synthetic chemicals and minerals which can induce skin allergies and premature ageing. Usage of sunscreens and photoprotectors of natural origin and natural antioxidants can reduce skin damage caused by excessive sun exposure. The effectiveness of the use of β-carotene — vitamin’s A precursor against excessive irradiation caused by oxidative stress cell damages has been proven of its very good antioxidative properties and leading to sooner regeneration of the skin after several environmental damages. Carotenoids and high value oil can be extracted from pumpkin (Cucurbitta spp.) by-products — peel and seeds with SC CO2. The objective of this study was to incorporate pumpkin seed oil (PSO) and carotenoid extract (CE) from pumpkin by-products in to facial creams for UV protection. Two types of creams with PSO and CE were prepared emulsion o/w and w/o. A cream without extracts and natural ingredients was used as control sample. The sun protection factor values in vitro (SPF = 0.92 to 1.18), total content of carotenoids (TCC = 1.08–17.95 µg mLE−1), β-carotene content (0.64–0.72 µg mLE−1), total phenolic content (TPC = 62.64–95.82 mg GAE gE−1), antiradical scavenging activity (11.26–43.66 %) and rheological behaviour of facial creams were determined. Although creams with CE and PSO show comparatively low SPF values, ß-carotene and phenolic compounds found in samples demonstrated very high antioxidant abilities valuable for skin protection.