This book explores food traceability in raw materials, additives and packing of the dairy sector and it provides an accessible and succinct overview of the new Extended Traceability (ExTra) software. In this work, the authors present several practical examples of extended food traceability for edible products and food-contact materials in the cheese-making industry. Readers will also discover a summary of the existing legal and regulatory requirements for food traceability in Europe. This book will appeal to a wide readership, from academic researchers to professionals and auditors in industry working in quality control, food and packing traceability, and international regulation.

This book explores food traceability in raw materials, additives and packing of the dairy sector and it provides an accessible and succinct overview of the new Extended Traceability (ExTra) software. In this work, the authors present several practical examples of extended food traceability for edible products and food-contact materials in the cheese-making industry. Readers will also discover a summary of the existing legal and regulatory requirements for food traceability in Europe. This book will appeal to a wide readership, from academic researchers to professionals and auditors in industry working in quality control, food and packing traceability, and international regulation.

This Brief describes the chemical features of canned food products and gives background information on the technology of canning foods. It explains how canned foods are different from other packaged foods, and illustrates and discusses their unique properties, including risks and failures. Canned foods are usually considered to offer a particularly long shelf-life and durability. An understanding of their properties and influences on their durability is therefore of great importance in the industrial production, and this Brief offers a compact introduction to this topic. The authors focus on thermally-preserved foods. They explain that the right choice of thermal treatment method (e.g. pasteurisation, sterilisation) as well as process parameters (e.g. time, temperature) is additionally influenced by criteria such as pH, water content, the presence and concentration of fatty molecules, of calcium, etc. So-called 'survival curves' can help in determining the methodology of choice, and the Brief introduces the reader to this concept. The authors also address defects and failures. They introduce selected indicators, which can help identifying failures of the entire food/packaging system, and demonstrate how image and visual analysis can be applied in quality controls. The explanations and industrial production of canned foods are exemplified with the case of canned tomato sauces and beans.

This book explains the role of food-oriented (or 'food-centric') quality system standards in the modern food and beverage industry. It discusses food safety schemes based on the international norm ISO 9001 and the "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points" approach, and also introduces the new Global Standard for Food Safety (GSFS) and the International Featured Standard (IFS, 7th ed.), outlining standardization for international equivalence (while maintaining the necessary flexibility and independence - which is not always easy an easy task).Providing selected specific examples, it examines the problems of chemical additives and possible cross-contaminations between different production lines, as well as adequate reactions to and handling of intentional adulterations. In addition, it includes a chapter focusing on quality audits and technical data sheets in the food industry, and a final chapter describing the certification of food-grade lubricants in the food industry, especially with regard to allergenic substances.

This Brief evaluates the consequences of protein modifications in cheeses, with special emphasis on mozzarella cheeses. It explains the influence of biogenic amines on food quality and safety. As certain biogenic amines display a toxic potential to humans, considerable research has been undertaken in recent years to evaluate their presence in fermented foods, such as cheeses. This Brief summarizes how the presence of amines is influenced by different factors such as cheese variety, seasoning and microflora. The authors compare typical profiles of different products, e.g. ripe vs. unripe cheeses, focusing also on the different types of mozzarella cheeses. The Brief also introduces several analytical methods and simulation techniques, which are being used to evaluate the evolutive profiles of different selected molecules, protein aggregation, or proteolysis.

This Brief explores the chemistry and production technology of a cheese precursor: the cow's milk curd. It explains how different coagulation and treatment methods can be used to obtain various types of cheeses. Parameters such as the type of used milk, the coagulation method, pH value, color, and microbial fermentation have a profound impact on the resulting curd properties, and hence on the cheese. The authors discuss some of the most important parameters, and how their modification can lead to a variety of cheese and dairy products. This Brief also addresses the question, if cheese makers can standardize their production procedures, and what role chemistry may play in that. Another important point addressed here are the sources of failures in the curd production, e.g. in packaging systems. Readers will find selected examples of helpful analytical techniques for studying and evaluating curd quality, and for monitoring the chemical evolution of selected chemical substances or protein aggregation.

This Brief presents a chemical perspective on frozen vegetables, also known as "ready-to-use" foods. It elucidates the chemical properties and modifications of vegetables from harvest and treatment to the end of their long shelf-life. Particular attention is given to the microbiological colonization of vegetables during the freezing treatments and to the chemical and physical modifications associated. The authors explore the undesired effects of this colonization through the lens of the antibiotic-resistant Staphylococci found in hermetically-package frozen vegetables. With this informative and instructive Brief, readers will understand the importance of the frozen storage technologies.

This Brief provides a general description of the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). It describes the RASFF approach on the legal level and with reference to notification procedures, including also new tools, which were launched in 2014: iRASFF and the RASFF Consumer Portal. In an introduction, the present status of the RASFF, which had originally been introduced in 1979, is briefly reviewed. It is described as the main basis of modern food policy in Europe, enabling member countries to take rapid corrective actions on the one hand, and to perform statistically reliable analyses of food-related hazards on the other hand. One chapter contains a statistical evaluation of RASFF notifications in general, and specifically with regard to chemical contaminants, including also allergens. In another chapter, reasons for rejections of food and feed at the European borders are analyzed in selected case studies. The Brief provides an easy description for the chemical dangers and contaminants it is referring to, outlining the names, properties, uses and importance in the food and feed industry, toxicological effects, and contamination sources. The last chapter offers an outlook on the future of the RASFF and possible expectations.

This Brief concerns the chemical risk in food products from the viewpoint of microbiology. The "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point" (HACCP) approach, which is applied for this purpose, is dedicated to the study and the analysis of all possible dangers by food consumptions and the related countermeasures with the aim of protecting the health of consumers. This difficult objective is highly multidisciplinary and requires a plethora of different competencies. This book thus addresses chemists, microbiologists, food technologists, medical professionals and veterinarians. The chemical risks described in this book are related to food additives, contaminants by food packaging materials, chemicals from cleaning systems and microbial toxins. The present book gives an introduction and overview of these various topics.

This Brief concerns the influence of chemistry in the modern food and beverages industry. The world of traditional foods has been soundlessly but increasingly interconnected with the chemical industry in the last century. Different areas are considered in a multidisciplinary approach: - the production of chemical additives and of non-food components needed in the food industry (e.g. packaging materials) - the regulatory perspective of the whole food production chain - commercialization of food commodities - the problem of food safety from the viewpoint of official auditors with medical or veterinarian competencies - new and emerging risks related to food packaging materials - the assessment of the authenticity of edible products. This Brief includes different viewpoints, ranging from the management of allergens and food additives in the food plant to the complex matter of the formulation of traditional products with the consequent production of "alternative" versions of the same food.

This Brief is concerned with the connection between food packaging and the chemical composition of packaging materials. In terms of the food packaging hygiene, the influence of the containers on the contained foods is discussed. The book explores new and emerging risks related to food packaging materials in connection with the contained commodities. It also discusses the technology of production with relation to the chemical risk in a "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point" (HACCP) investigation.