Nutrition and Food Chemistry

Chemistry of Food Constituents

Food chemistry also includes the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, and milk as examples. It is similar to biochemistry in its main components such as carbohydrates, lipids, and protein, but it also includes areas such as water, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, food additives, flavors, and colors. This discipline withal encompasses how products change under certain aliment processing techniques and ways either to enhance or to obviate them from transpiring. An example of enhancing a process would be to encourage fermentation of dairy products with microorganisms that convert lactose to lactic acid; an example of preventing a process would be stopping the browning on the surface of freshly cut red apples using lemon juice or other acidulated water.