Covers a Host of Groundbreaking TechniquesThermal processing is known to effectively control microbial populations in food, but the procedure also has a downsideit can break down the biochemical composition of foods, resulting in a marked loss of sensory and nutritional quality. Processing Effects on Safety and Quality of Foods delineates three dec

Food processing is expected to affect content, activity and bioavailability of nutrients; the health-promoting capacity of food products depends on their processing history. Traditional technologies, such as the use of antimicrobials and thermal processing, are efficient in increasing nutritional value to an extent, though they may not be effective at addressing food safety, particularly when it comes to maintaining the food's molecular structure. Modern food processing plants improve the quality of life for people with allergies, diabetics, and others who cannot consume some common food elements. Food processing can also add extra nutrients, such as vitamins. Processed foods are often less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are better suited for long-distance transportation from the source to the consumer. However, food processing can also decrease the nutritional value of foods and introduce hazards not encountered with naturally occurring products. Processed foods often include food additives, such as flavourings and texture-enhancing agents, which may have little or no nutritive value, and may in fact be unhealthy. This book deals with the subject of food processing in a unique way, providing an overview not only of current techniques in food processing and preservation (i.e., dairy, meat, cereal, vegetables, fruits and juice processing, etc.) but also the health and safety aspects: food technologies that improve nutritional quality of foods, functional foods, and nanotechnology in the food and agriculture industry. The text also looks into the future by defining current bottlenecks and future research goals. This work will serve as a ready reference for the subject matter to students and researchers alike.

The contents of this book are the proceedings of the ACS symposium, "Impact of Processing on Food Safety," which was held April 16-17, 1997, at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco, CA. This symposium brought together re searchers from diverse backgrounds in academia, government, and industry. Twenty speakers discussed topics ranging from the regulatory aspects of food processing to the microbiological and chemical changes in food during processing. The main goal of food processing is to improve the microbial safety of food by de stroying pathogenic and spoilage organisms. Food processing can also improve food safety by destroying or eliminating naturally occurring toxins, chemical contaminants, and antinutritive factors. Unfortunately, processing can also cause chemical changes that result in the formation of toxic or antinutritive factors. The purpose of this book is to summarize our knowledge of both the beneficial and deleterious effects of processing. Chapter I con siders the consumer's perceptions about food contaminants and food processing. Chapter 2 summarizes the effects of traditional and nontraditional processing methods on microor ganisms in food. Chapters 3-6 review the effects of processing on lipids (fatty acids and cholesterol) in food. Changes in the nutritive value of vitamins and minerals as a result of processing are discussed in chapter 7. Chapter 8 concentrates on how processing reduces the allergenicity of some foods.

This text comprehensively covers novel, innovative technologies used in the food and beverage industries in order to provide safe and healthy foods for consumers. The research provided in these chapters aims to show that the traditional pasteurization and commercial sterilization of foods result in unacceptable quality and nutrient retention, creating an important need for alternative methods used to minimize undesirable reactions such as thermal decomposition or degradation. Emerging processing methods to minimize heat induced alterations in foods and their applications are covered in-depth, demonstrating that these methods are useful not only for the inactivation of microorganisms and enzymes but also for improving the yield and development of ingredients and marketable foods with higher quality and better nutritional characteristics. Effect of Emerging Processing Methods on the Food Quality: Advantages and Challenges not only covers the advantages of using innovative processing methods, but also the disadvantages and challenges of using these techniques on food quality. Each chapter focuses on a different emerging processing technique, breaking down the sensory, textural and nutritional aspects for different food products in addition to the advantages and challenges for each method. New technologies and advanced theories are a major focus, pointing to innovative new paths for the quality and safety assurance in food products. From pulsed electric fields to ultrasounds, this work covers all aspects of emerging processing techniques for fruits and vegetables, foods and dairy products.

How safe is our food supply? Each year the media report what appears to be growing concern related to illness caused by the food consumed by Americans. These food borne illnesses are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues, and food additives. Recent actions taken at the federal, state, and local levels in response to the increase in reported incidences of food borne illnesses point to the need to evaluate the food safety system in the United States. This book assesses the effectiveness of the current food safety system and provides recommendations on changes needed to ensure an effective science-based food safety system. Ensuring Safe Food discusses such important issues as: What are the primary hazards associated with the food supply? What gaps exist in the current system for ensuring a safe food supply? What effects do trends in food consumption have on food safety? What is the impact of food preparation and handling practices in the home, in food services, or in production operations on the risk of food borne illnesses? What organizational changes in responsibility or oversight could be made to increase the effectiveness of the food safety system in the United States? Current concerns associated with microbiological, chemical, and physical hazards in the food supply are discussed. The book also considers how changes in technology and food processing might introduce new risks. Recommendations are made on steps for developing a coordinated, unified system for food safety. The book also highlights areas that need additional study. Ensuring Safe Food will be important for policymakers, food trade professionals, food producers, food processors, food researchers, public health professionals, and consumers.

The processing of food generally implies the transformation of the perishable raw food to value-added products. It imparts benefits, such as the destruction of surface microflora, and inactivation of deleterious enzymes, such as peroxidase, leading to a greater shelf life of the food. It also enhances color and texture while maintaining quality of products and makes them edible. However, it also has an inevitable impact on nutritional quality attributes, such as increase or decrease in certain vitamins and bioactive metabolites among others. Food Processing Technologies: Impact on Product Attributes covers a range of food processing technologies and their effect on various food product attributes, such as bioactive compounds, safety, and sensory and nutritional aspects of the food upon processing. There are eight major parts in the book. Part I covers the conventional processing technologies. Parts II, III, IV, and V deal with various novel processing technologies, including impingement processing technologies, electro-magnetic processing technologies, physico-mechanical processing technologies, and electro-technologies. Part VI introduces chemical processing technologies. Part VII comprise irradiation processing technology, and the final part is focused on biological processing technology, detailing the application of enzymes in food processing. Numerous studies were carried out to find the impact of these processing technologies on various aspects of food and associated health promotion properties. Both positive and negative results were obtained based on nature of foods, processing type, and duration of processing, and this book covers these results in depth.

Despite advances in hygiene, food treatment, and food processing, diseases caused by foodborne pathogens continue to constitute a worldwide public health concern. Ensuring food safety to protect public health remains a significant challenge in both developing and developed nations. Food Safety and Human Health provides a framework to manage food safety risks and assure a safe food system. Political, economic, and ecological changes have led to the re-emergence of many foodborne pathogens. The globalization of food markets, for example, has increased the challenge to manage the microbial risks. This reference will help to identify potential new approaches in the development of new microbiologically safe foods that will aid in preventing food borne illness outbreaks and provides the basic principles of food toxicology, food processing, and food safety. Food Safety and Human Health is an essential resource to help students, researchers, and industry professionals understand and address day-to-day problems regarding food contamination and safety. - Encompasses the first pedagogic treatment of the entire range of toxic compounds found naturally in foods or introduced by industrial contaminatio - Identifies areas of vital concern to consumers, such as toxicological implications of food, and human health implications of food processing - Focuses on safety aspects of genetically modified foods and the range of processing techniques along with the important food safety laws