Chemical Changes in Food during Processing— An Overview

Abstract

Without exception, the major methods currently used to commercially preserve foods, namely, heating, cooling (chilling, freezing), reduction of water activity (concentration, dehydration), and fermentation, were originally developed with little knowledge of the chemical consequences. However, since their commercialization, science has caught up with practice not only for these well-established processes but also for more recent processing techniques (e. g., alkali processing of soy proteins). As a consequence, a considerable body of information has accumulated concerning the chemical consequences of food processing on the sensory properties, nutritive value, and wholesomeness of foods. It is indisputable that processing can and does result in extensive chemical changes in food, with the kind and degree of these changes depending upon the food, the specific process, and the associated handling and storage procedures employed.