Written in a systematic and comprehensive manner, the book reports recent advances in the development of food science and technology areas.

Advances in Food Science and Technology discusses many of the recent technical research accomplishments in the areas of food science and technology, such as food security as a global issue, food chemistry, frozen food and technology, as well as state-of-the-art developments concerning food production, properties, quality, trace element speciation, nanotechnology, and bionanocomposites for food packing applications.

Specifically, this important book details:

New innovative methods for food formulations and novel nanotechnology applications such as food packaging, enhanced barrier, active packaging, and intelligent packagingFreezing methods and equipment such as freezing by contact with cold air, cold liquid, and cold surfaces, cryogenic freezing, and a combination of freezing methodsChemical and functional properties of food componentsBionanocomposites for natural food packing and natural biopolymer-based films such as polysaccharide films and protein filmsRegulatory aspects of food ingredients in the United States with the focus on the safety of enzyme preparations used in food

The Editors

Visakh P.M. is a Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Science at Mahatma Gandhi University. He has edited three books with Sabu Thomas for Wiley-Scrivener. He has been a visiting student at many European universities and is currently working at Charles University, Czech Republic. His research interests include polymer nanocomposites, bio-nanocomposites, rubber-based nanocomposites, fire- retardant polymers, and liquid crystalline polymers.

Sabu Thomas is a professor of polymer science and engineering at the School of Chemical Sciences, as well as the Director of the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, India. He received his PhD in 1987 in polymer engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, London, and a member of the American Chemical Society. He has been ranked fifth in India with regard to the number of publications (most productive scientists). He also received the coveted Sukumar Maithy Award for the best polymer researcher in the country in 2008.

Laura B. Iturriaga is a food engineer, researcher, and lecturer in the food physics-chemistry field at the Faculty of Agriculture and Industrial Agriculture, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero (UNSE), Argentina. She successfully defended her PhD at the Universidad de La Plata (UNLP).

Pablo Daniel Ribotta studied chemical engineering at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC) in Argentina and finished his PhD at the Universidad Nacional de la Plata in 2002. He is currently a research member of the National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET), and Full Professor of Food Technology and Director of the Instituto Superior de Investigación, Desarrollo y Servicios en Alimentos (ISIDSA) at UNC.

List of Contributors

1 Food Chemistry and Technology
Visakh P.M., Sabu Thomas, Laura B. Iturriaga and Pablo Daniel Ribotta

1.1 Food Security 1

1.2 Nanotechnology in Food Applications 4

1.3 Frozen Food and Technology 5

1.4 Chemical and Functional Properties of Food Components 7

1.5 Food: Production, Properties and Quality 8

1.6 Safety of Enzyme Preparations Used in Food 10

1.7 Trace Element Speciation in Food 11

1.8 Bio-nanocomposites for Natural Food Packaging 13

References 14

2 Food Security: A Global Problem 19
Donatella Restuccia, Umile Gianfranco Spizzirri, Francesco Puoci, Giuseppe Cirillo, Ortensia Ilaria Parisi, Giuliana Vinci and Nevio Picci

2.1 Food Security: Definitions andBasic Concepts 20

2.2 Main Causes of Food Insecurity 27

2.3 The Food Insecurity Dimension 50

2.4 Conclusions 93

References 95

3 Nanotechnology in Food Applications 103
Rui M. S. Cruz, Javiera F. Rubilar, Igor Khmelinskii and Margarida C. Vieira

3.1 What is Nanotechnology? 103

3.2 Food Formulations 105

3.3 Food Packaging 107

3.4 Regulation Issues and Consumer Perception 115

Acknowledgements 116

References 116

4 Frozen Food and Technology 123
Elisabete M. C. Alexandre, Teresa R. S. Brandão and Cristina L. M. Silva

4.1 Introduction 124

4.2 Treatments: Pre-freezing 125

4.3 Freezing Process 129

4.4 Freezing Methods and Equipment 131

4.5 Effect of Freezing and Frozen Storage on Food Properties 142

4.6 Final Remarks 146

References 147

5 Chemical and Functional Properties of Food Components 151
Campos-Montiel R. G., Pimentel-González D. J. and Figueira A. C.

5.1 Introduction 151

5.2 Functional and Chemical Properties of Food Components 152

5.3 Nutritional Value and Sensory Properties of Food 168

5.4 Postharvest Storage and Processing 174

5.5 Conclusion 177

Acknowledgements 178

References 178

6 Food: Production, Properties and Quality 185
Yantyati Widyastuti, Tatik Khusniati and Endang Sutriswati Rahayu

6.1 Introduction 185

6.2 Food Production 186

6.3 Factors Affecting Production and Improvement of Food 187

6.4 Food Properties 196

6.5 Food Quality 197

References 199

7 Regulatory Aspects of Food Ingredients in the United States: Focus on the Safety of Enzyme Preparations Used in Food 201
Shayla West-Barnette and Jannavi R. Srinivasan

7.1 Introduction 202

7.2 Regulatory History of Food Ingredients: Guided by Safety 202

7.3 Scientific Advancement as Part of the Regulatory History of Enzyme Preparations 206

7.4 Safety Evaluation of Enzyme Preparations 216

7.5 Conclusion 223

Acknowledgements 223

References 223

8 Trace Element Speciation in Food 227
Paula Berton, Estefania M. Martinis and Rodolfo G. Wuilloud

8.1 Introduction 228

8.2 Implications of Toxic Elements Speciation for Food Safety 230

8.3 Elemental Species and Its Impact on the Nutritional Value of Food 238

8.4 Elemental Species in Food Processing 243

8.5 Potential Functional Food Derived from Health Benefits of Elemental Species 246

8.6 Analytical Methods for Food Elemental Speciation Analysis 249

8.7 Conclusions 256

References 257

9 Bionanocomposites for Natural Food Packing 265
Bibin Mathew Cherian, Gabriel Molina de Olyveiro, Ligia Maria Manzine Costa, Alcides Lopes Leäo, Marcia Rodrigues de Morais Chaves, Sivoney Ferreira de Souza and Suresh Narine

9.1 Introduction 266

9.2 Natural Biopolymer-based Films 267

9.3 Modification of Film Properties 274

9.4 Environmental Impact of Bionanocomposites Materials 290

9.5 Conclusions and Future Perspectives 294

References 294

Index 301