"Offers comprehensive coverage of the latest toxicological, technological, and nutritional developments in both natural and synthetic antioxidants used in the food industry. Explores the sources of antioxidants, antioxidant classification, synergism, degradation in food systems, and techniques for identification."

This reference comprehensively covers the formation, characteristics, and control of various toxins that occur in the production, storage, handling, and preparation of food-exploring toxin sources, mechanisms, routes of exposure and absorption, and their chemical and biochemical components to prevent contamination of food products and reduce epidemics of foodborne disease. Contains more than 3000 current references to facilitate further research, as well as recent guidelines from the FDA and World Health Organization regarding food hygiene and safety The Handbook of Food Toxicology discusses methods to inhibit toxin formation the effect of manufacturing, pesticide, and drug residues on the tissues, organs, and biological processes of the human body the origins, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases caused by food-related microorganisms, viruses, and bacteria biological and industrial contaminants in the air, water, and soil possible environmental factors contributing to cancer, gene mutations, and birth defects potential toxic effects of normal dietary constituents the role of metabolic pathways in xenobiotic toxicity toxicants derived from food processing operations naturally occurring antinutritional components of plants and fungi the impact of additives on food texture, stability, and nutritional value From health and economic consequences to exposure assessment and detoxification, the Handbook of Food Toxicology is an authoritative and timely guide for food toxicologists and mycotoxicologists, nutritionists, food and environmental microbiologists, molecular and cell biologists and biochemists, infectious disease specialists, gastroenterologists, emergency room/poison control physicians, agricultural scientists, phytotoxicologists, food scientists and technologists, food sanitarians, parasitiologists, entomologists, epidemiologists, state and federal regulatory officials, and public health officers.

The present world population of about five billion and its projected growth cre ate enonnous pressures and demands for food and industrial raw materials. It is to crop plants, one of our precious few renewable resources, that we must look to meet most of these needs. Globally, about 88% of our caloric requirements and 90% of our protein ultimately derive from plant sources-ample evidence of their importance to humankind. Our survival will therefore continue to de pend on the world's largest and certainly most important industry: agriculture. Yet in spite of our long history of domestication and civilization, the number of crop species involved in sustaining human life is strictly limited: Essentially, some twenty-four crops protect us from starvation. To know these basic food crop plants-to study how they function and how their productivity may be improved--is the first step in solving the world food problem. The primary objectives in writing this book were to address this chal lenge and to review comprehensively the wealth of available yet scattered infor mation on food crop productivity and processing. Unlike several other texts and monographs in this field, the present work was intended to give, in a single volume, a quick, infonnative view of the various problems from field to table concerning the major food crops worldwide.

Since the classical work of Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon Berson on the radioim- munoassay of insulin in the late 1950s, which so brilliantly opened new domains in the diagnostics sector, immunoassays have been well received as a diagnostic and research tool in several disciplines of life sciences. The economics, rapidity, sensitivity, specificity, and the easy-to-use approach of immunodiagnostic tests are widely recognized, and have had a tremendous impact on clinical, agricultural, food, veterinary, and environmental diagnostics. At present, in the clinical diag- nostic sector alone, immunoassay products command an annual worldwide mar- ket value in excess of U. S. $10 billion, which is expanding by about 10% per annum. The recent trend toward increasing demand for automation of immunoassays and stable reagents clearly shows a definitive shift to nonisotopic immunoassay systems on a large scale. Historically, enzyme immunoassays have been in a prime position for in-house applications, primarily because of the easy access to inex- pensive measuring equipment as well as to a vast body of literature on labeling techniques and applications. The recent popularity with the general public of sev- eral over-the-counter immunoassay products based on this technology, such as glucose level kits for diabetics, cholesterol screening tests, and pregnancy detec- tion test kits, is quite evident.

This unique reference provides a pragmatic approach to the development of successful commercial immunodiagnostic products based on enzyme immunoassay technology. Presenting both basic and applied principles, Enzyme Immunoassays gathers information on all aspects of this process, from the initial conceptualization to the introduction of the product to the market. Skillfully organized into two parts, this comprehensive resource begins by discussing basic concepts, such as the classification, structure and function of antibodies and the properties and characteristics of the most widely used enzymes in immunoassays. The second section examines the industrial product development process, including a detailed outline of various protocols and points to be considered for designing a successful product. Described in this section are the various formats available for product development, reagent formatting and assay development, data processing, standardization, scale up, and commercial manufacture of the product. Also included are the various regulatory requirements, the importance of good laboratory and manufacturing (GLP and GMP) practices, and international requirements such as the ISO 9000 certification process. Finally, information is presented for the benefit of entrepreneurs who would like to venture into this exciting field with their own company. With over 75 illustrations and 40 tables, Enzyme Immunoassays is an incomparable reference for scientists, technologists, and analytical chemists working in the field of immunodiagnostics at all levels, as well as for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in life sciences fields in order to understand the basic concepts and principlesinvolved in developing rapid assay techniques.

"Offers comprehensive coverage of the latest toxicological, technological, and nutritional developments in both natural and synthetic antioxidants used in the food industry. Explores the sources of antioxidants, antioxidant classification, synergism, degradation in food systems, and techniques for identification."