Insight to Modern Food Science

The novel insights, as well as the main drawbacks of each engineered composites material is extensively evaluated taking into account the strong relationship between packaging materials, environmental and reusability concerns, food quality, and nutritional value. Composites, by matching the properties of different components, allow the development of innovative and performing strategies for intelligent food packaging, thus overcoming the limitations of using only a single material. The book starts with the description of montmorillonite and halloysite composites, subsequently moving to metal-based materials with special emphasis on silver, zinc, silicium and iron. After the discussion about how the biological influences of such materials can affect the performance of packaging, the investigation of superior properties of sp2 carbon nanostructures is reported. Here, carbon nanotubes and graphene are described as starting points for the preparation of highly engineered composites able to promote the enhancement of shelf-life by virtue of their mechanical and electrical features. Finally, in the effort to find innovative composites, the applicability of biodegradable materials from both natural (e.g., cellulose) and synthetic (e.g., polylactic acid—PLA) origins, with the aim to prove that polymer-based materials can overcome some key limitations such as environmental impact and waste disposal.

Food safety and quality are key objectives for food scientists and industries all over the world. To achieve this goal, several analytical techniques (based on both destructive detection and nondestructive detection) have been proposed to fit the government regulations. The book aims to cover all the analytical aspects of the food quality and safety assessment. For this purpose, the volume describes the most relevant techniques employed for the determination of the major food components (e.g., protein, polysaccharides, lipids, vitamins, etc.), with peculiar attention to the recent development in the field. Furthermore, the evaluation of the risk associated with food consumption is performed by exploring the recent advances in the detection of the key food contaminants (e.g., biogenic amines, pesticides, toxins, etc.). Chapters tackle such subject as: • GMO Analysis Methods in Food • Current Analytical Techniques for the Analysis of Food Lipids • Analytical Methods for the Analysis of Sweeteners in Food • Analytical Methods for Pesticides Detection in Foodstuffs • Food and Viral Contamination • Application of Biosensors to Food Analysis