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F oo d C hem istry 2 nd ed revised a nd e xp an ded

O w en R F en ne m a e d

Hew York Marce l D ek ke r, In c., 1 98 5, 9 91 p p., 9 5.0 0 d omes tic , 1 14 .0 0 fo re ig n h ard co ve r); 3 9.9 9 d omes tic , 5 9.5 0 fo re ig n s oftco ve r/

c la ss room use ).

Food Chem istry is a revision of its decade-old pre

vious edition, Principles of Food Science. Part I. Food

Chemistry. The editor s objective for the book is to

serve as a textbook for upper division undergraduates

or beginning graduate students who have sound back

grounds in organic chem istry and biochem istry, and to

provide insight to researchers interested in food chem

istry.

Those familiar w ith the first edition will immedi

ately see a great improvement in the format. Instead

of cam era-ready typed m anuscripts, this edition is type

set and fig ures are m ore sta ndardized, clearly presented

and com plete. The text is still presented in 16 chapters,

w ith contributions from 22 authors. The style has

changed from a chapter-by-chapter literature review to

a m ore integrated presentation with less emphasis on

com pleteness of citations and m ore on understanding

and integration of material presented. A concerted ef

fort has been made to minim ize overlap of basic chem

ical inform ation found in chem istry and biochem istry

textbooks and to focus on those aspects of physical and

organic chem istry and biochem istry that constitute the

uniqueness of the food chem ist's interests.

The introductory chapter outlines historical and cur

rent issues that have faced food chem ists. This provides

an interesting perspective for nutritionists and dieti

tians who have witnessed sim ilar changes in focus and

direction for their research and w ho m ust also presently

respond to the public's need for accurate and timely

information.

T he m ajor co nstituent o f m ost foodsw ateris dis

cussed at length in the next chapter, which em phasizes

the physical chem istry of w ater in foods. This coverage

is beneficial in term s of understanding the role of w ater

in cryobiological system s, the effects of w ater activity

on physical and chem ical properties in foods and diets,

and w ater-state effects in food preservation, especially

con trol of m icrobial grow th.

The chapter on carbohydrates has been com pletely

rewritten. Nomenclature, chemical structures and

physical properties are all introduced. R eactions of car

bohydrates are outlined in terms of their im portance

in food systems, and interactions with noncarbohy-

drates, such as M aillard brow ning, are system atically

presented. The review of polysaccharide structures and

functional properties m ay be of particular value to those

interested in the com position of dietary fiber.

The food lipids chapter is also new and well done.

Basic nomenclature is given, and the discussion of

physical/chem ical properties stresses m echanism s of

lip id oxidatio n, therm al decom position and prevention

of deleterious reactions. B iological effects of various

form s of food lipids are introduced, w ith key references

given for m ore detailed reviews of selected topics.

Amino acids and proteins are presented from a basic

chem ical base from which the authors lead to physical

properties in foods and an introduction to nutritional

attributes. U nconven tional and g enetically engineered

sources of proteins are discussed along w ith the effects

of processing and storage of selected proteins. Some

aspects of chemical modification of proteins are re

view ed and related to changes in functional properties.

Changes in nutritive values and toxic effects are also

introduced.

T he enzym e chapter has been extensively revised and

provides an exceptionally com plete introduction to the

unique properties and effects of enzym es in foods. C ov

erage of basic enzyme biochemistry is thorough and

leads to exam ples of importance in foods and food pro

cessing. An overview of the use of immobilized en

zymes is given with examples of food applications. A

thorough review of the effects of endogenous enzym es

in foods is followed by a discussion of enzyme inhib

itors. The chapter concludes w ith a discussion and per

spective of recom binant DN A technology and genetic

engine ering ap plied to fo ods.

T he chapter on vitam ins and m inerals stresses effects

of processing and preservation on losses, retention and

both increased and decreased availability of vitam ins

and m inerals. T he chapter form at is m ore of a literature

review , sim ilar to the book's previous edition. There

are 262 references cited with 13 additional biblio

graphic sources suggested; how ever, there are few ref

erences more recent than the m id-1970s. Som e incon

sistencies such as incorrect citation of RDA values and

conflicting statements on the stability of pyridoxal

(com pared to other vitam ers) suggest need for editorial

review in future versions of the book.

The chapter on pigments and other colorants is a

concise introduction to natural and synthetic colorants

0022-3166/87 3.00 1987 American Institute of N utrition. R eceived: 14 A ugust 1986. J. N utr. 117: 213-214, 1987.

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4

BOOK REVIEWS

in f oods. Structural inf ormation on various plant pig

ments is presented and some mechanisms for color

changes and ef fects are rev iewed. Detai led mechan isms

for synthesi s, color changes, and degradat ive react ions

are not gi ven much attenti on (f or exampl e, the i mpor

tance of charge- transfer compl exes i s not detai led), but

these may be beyond the scope of this book.

Flavors in f ood systems are presented in one of the

most complete and best w ri tten chapters on the sub

j ect. A l though, by the nature of the subj ect matter, the

t reatment of speci f ic topi cs must be sel ecti ve, subj ects

are chosen w isel y i n terms of importance to f ood chem

istry and i ts relationships to the areas of sensory re

sponse to w hi ch the chemi stry i s rel ated.

A simi lar selective treatment is given to the pre

sentati on of f ood addi ti ves. T he author chose several

categor ies of food addi ti ves and presents the chemist ry

al ong w ith di scussi ons of the f uncti on that the addi ti ve

is to impart to foods. This chapter wi l l not serve as a

complete ref erence guide to addi tives that may be of

concern to the reader, but i t does cover the general

modes of acti on f or several of the maj or cl asses of f ood

additives.

T he chapter on undesi rabl e or potenti al ly undesi r

able consti tuents of foods starts with an overview of

the considerations of toxicants in f oods. This is fol

l ow ed by sel ected sampl es of vari ous cl asses of natu

ral ly occurring and synthetic, or unintentional , con

tami nants. T he chapter covers the terms and general

chemical structures, where known, for most of the

common types of f ood-borne tox icants.

Four chapters f ol low that deal speci f ical ly w i th maj or

f ood ty pes or commodi ti es. T he f irst of these descri bes

characteristics of muscl e tissue. The emphasis is on

the conversi on of muscl e to meat and the chemi cal and

bi ochem ical changes that occur duri ng the conversi on

process. T opi cs of parti cul ar emphasi s are the ef f ects

of f reezi ng and postmor tem changes that occur through

such treatments as el ectri cal stimul ati on, modi fi ed at

mosphere storage, and preservati on w i th chem ical and

radiat ion methods.

The discussion of mi lk covers material fami l iar to

most nutri ti oni sts, especi al ly the physi ol ogy of mi lk

producti on. T he compl ex subj ect of the stabi li zati on of

mi lk consti tuents such as the casein micel les and f at

globules is introduced. Some of the ef fects of pro

cessing, especial ly thermal treatment, are also de

scribed.

The chapter on eggs is very complete and has been

updated f rom the previous edi tion. The chemistry of

egg consti tuents and the associ ated mi crostructure i s

presented in a manner which lends i tsel f to further

ex ami nati on of the ef fects of processi ng on the maj or

components.

T he chapter on edi bl e pl ant ti ssues i s an excel lent

summary of the tremendously diverse f ield of plant

biology. The author successf ul ly disti l ls out the key

el ements of cel l composi ti on, structure and bi ochem

i stry w hi ch l eads to a l ogi cal and conci se di scussi on of

pl ant ti ssue characteri sti cs. The ef f ects of handl i ng and

storage of f resh f rui ts and vegetabl es are then empha

sized. There is an excel lent overview of ef fects and

processes such as temperature and humidi ty, con

trol led atmosphere storage, r adi ati on preservati on,

thermal processi ng, dehydrati on and f reezi ng preser

vati on of f rui ts and vegetabl e products.

T he f inal chapter, enti tl ed An I ntegrated Approach

of Food Chemist ry : I l l ust rat ive Cases, at tempts to sew

together the precedi ng 15 chapters and show a cohe-

siveness to the f ield of f ood chemi stry. A l though this

w oul d have been an ambi ti ous proj ect f or any author,

I f el t somew hat disappointed. The chapter is mostl y a

rev iew of the author s research program and f ocuses on

empi ri cal and engi neeri ng perspecti ves of physi cal

properti es of f oods duri ng processi ng operati ons and

storage. Changes i n products duri ng thei r shel f l if e are

important; how ever, there are many other aspects of

f ood chemi stry that are descri bed throughout the tex t

but are not mentioned in the summary. Thus, I f eel the

chapter f al ls short of the prom ise of i ts ti tl e and det racts

sl ightl y f rom the overal l high cal iber of the book.

To summarize, this book is probably the most com

prehensive and complete ref erence source f or f ood

chemistry avai lable at this time. The edi tor and con

tri butors have taken great care i n updati ng and rev isi ng

key chapters f rom the earl ier edi tion of the text. The

style has changed emphasis to a more readable f orm

w ith f ew er l iterature ci tati ons and more expl anati on

f or the reader, in most chapters. The book is also very

wel l indexed, making i t even more valuable as a ref

erence source.

The book should serve the edi tor s stated goal of

meeting the needs of a two-semester course in food

chemi stry . M y cl assroom experi ence w ith thi s tex t sug

gests that i t is more appropriate f or advanced under

graduate or graduate level study than as an int roductory

tex t f or upper di vi si on undergraduate students. For the

nutri ti oni st and di eteti cs prof essi onal , i t shoul d serv e

wel l as a k ey ref erence f or questi ons of f ood chem istry

and food composi t ion.

Re vie we d by

Gerald F. Russell

D e pa rtme nt o f F o od Sc ie nc e

and Technology

Univers ity of Cali fornia

Davis CA 956 6