Analytical Chemistry of Foods

Book excerpt: Food laws were fIrst introduced in 1860 when an Act for Preventing the Adulteration of Articles of Food or Drink was passed in the UK. This was followed by the Sale of Food Act in 1875, also in the UK, and later, in the USA, by the Food and Drugs Act of 1906. These early laws were basically designed to protect consumers against unscrupulous adulteration of foods and to safeguard consumers against the use of chemical preservatives potentially harmful to health. Subsequent laws, introduced over the course of the ensuing century by various countries and organisations, have encompassed the features of the early laws but have been far wider reaching to include legislation relating to, for example, specifIc food products, specifIc ingredients and specifIc uses. Conforming to the requirements set out in many of these laws and guidelines requires the chemical and physical analysis of foods. This may involve qualitative analysis in the detection of illegal food components such as certain colourings or, more commonly, the quantitative estimation of both major and minor food constituents. This quantitative analysis of foods plays an important role not only in obtaining the required information for the purposes of nutritional labelling but also in ensuring that foods conform to desired flavour and texture quality attributes. This book outlines the range oftechniques available to the food analyst and the theories underlying the more commonly used analytical methods in food studies.