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 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.