Analysis of Food Products

Food analysis is the discipline dealing with the development, application and study of analytical procedures for characterizing the properties of foods and their constituents. These analytical procedures are used to provide information about a wide variety of different characteristics of foods, including their composition, structure, physicochemical properties and sensory attributes. This information is critical to our rational understanding of the factors that determine the properties of foods, as well as to our ability to economically produce foods that are consistently safe, nutritious and desirable and for consumers to make informed choices about their diet. The objective of this course is to review the basic principles of the analytical procedures commonly used to analyze foods and to discuss their application to specific food components, e.g. lipids, proteins, water, carbohydrates and minerals. The following questions will be addressed in this introductory section: Who analyzes foods? Why do they analyze foods? What types of properties are measured? How does one choose an appropriate analytical technique for a particular food?