duction C.J. K. Henry, Oxford Brookes University; and C. Chapman, Unilever& d Colworth Improving the nutritional quality of food is a key requirement for the food industry. There are a number of factors which have made this area one of growing importance, including: Increasing health consciousness among consumers and concern about their dietary intake; New research on the links between diet and health, including the prevention of chronic disease Ageing populations in many developed countries prone to degenerative dis- orders such as cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and stroke; prevention and more individual responsibility for heal. reater emphasis on owing pressure on public health spending, leading to a Changes in the regulatory framework. Since Professor Arnold Bender's Food processing and nutrition(Bender, 1978), there have been relatively few comprehensive reviews of the impact of food pro- cessing on the nutritional quality of food. In the intervening period there has been continuing research on the contribution of key nutrients to health and on how these are affected by individual food processing operations. New technologies have emerged which also need to be taken into consideration. Building on Professor Bender's work and that of others in the field(for example, Henry and Heppell (1998)), The nutrition handbook for food processors seeks to summarise current research on key nutrients, their contribution to health and, in particular, low they are affected by both established and emerging food processing Part I provides a context for the rest of the book. Chapter 2 discusses current evidence on what consumers eat. It compares the wide range of European surveys1 Introduction C. J. K. Henry, Oxford Brookes University; and C. Chapman, Unilever R & D Colworth Improving the nutritional quality of food is a key requirement for the food industry. There are a number of factors which have made this area one of growing importance, including: • Increasing health consciousness among consumers and concern about their dietary intake; • New research on the links between diet and health, including the prevention of chronic disease; • Ageing populations in many developed countries prone to degenerative dis￾orders such as cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and stroke; • Growing pressure on public health spending, leading to a greater emphasis on prevention and more individual responsibility for health; • Changes in the regulatory framework. Since Professor Arnold Bender’s Food processing and nutrition (Bender, 1978), there have been relatively few comprehensive reviews of the impact of food pro￾cessing on the nutritional quality of food. In the intervening period there has been continuing research on the contribution of key nutrients to health and on how these are affected by individual food processing operations. New technologies have emerged which also need to be taken into consideration. Building on Professor Bender’s work and that of others in the field (for example, Henry and Heppell (1998)), The nutrition handbook for food processors seeks to summarise current research on key nutrients, their contribution to health and, in particular, how they are affected by both established and emerging food processing technologies. Part 1 provides a context for the rest of the book. Chapter 2 discusses current evidence on what consumers eat. It compares the wide range of European surveys