Food processing, carried out both industrially or during home meal preparation, is
expected to affect the content, activity and availability of bioactive compounds, namely
natural antioxidants such as vitamin E. It is particularly important that the effects of
processing are taken into consideration when assessing vitamin stability in foods, since
they can be subjected to a number of adverse factors during processing, being heat the
most common deleterious factor. In this chapter, some processing methods that may
contribute to vitamin E decrease are reviewed, together with those that can contribute to
the highest antioxidants retention or even increase availability. Focusing mainly on the
literature published in the last decade, alternative processes, recent industrial strategies
and home culinary procedures are discussed.
