ABSTRACT
With the noticeable exception of starch, which plays two roles (first, as a major nutritional ingredient and, second, as a texture agent), the use of polysaccharides
by the food industry is primarily based on the only role they play in the texture of foodstuffs. For this reason, they are generally classified as texture agents, in addition to a second class of such ingredients, the emulsifiers. Due to this important role in the quality of processed foodstuffs, these food ingredients have been investigated to a large extent by many scientific groups.
