3.1 Introduction Vitamins are classically defined as a group of organic compounds required in very small amounts for the normal development and functioning of the body. They are not synthesised by the body, or only in insufficient amounts, and are mainly obtained through food (Machlin and Huni, 1994). There are thirteen vitamins: four are fat-soluble, namely vitamins A (retinol)

4.1 Introduction Minerals are the inorganic elements, other than carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, which remain behind in the ash when food is incinerated. They are usually divided into two groups – macrominerals and microminerals (or trace elements). The terms are historical in origin and originated at a time when the development of analytical equipment was still in its infancy and ‘trace’ was used to refer to components whose presence could be detected, but not quantified. Modern analytical equipment that allows determination of elements

9.1 Introduction The most common dietary problems in developed countries are due mainly to over nutrition. The incidence of overweight, obesity and adult onset-diabetes is increasing steadily. Cancer is now the most common cause of death in many developed countries. The most common cancers are breast, lung, bowel and prostate, which are virtually absent in some developing countries. However, even

The taming of fire, permitting the thermal processing of vegetable foodstuffs in particular, extended enormously the number of natural products that could be used as foods by humans and gave a tremendous impulse to the extraordinary dif￾fusion and development of the human population in almost every region of the world (De Bry, 1994). Foodstuffs can be roughly divided in two classes, those that are or are not edible in their raw form. The most important naturally edible foods are meat and milk, which are heated mainly for eliminating dangerous microorganisms, and some fruits, used by plants to attract animals for diffusing

The domestication of different grasses, all members of the monocotyledonous family Gramineae, was a seminal event in the history of mankind. The cultiva￾tion of these plants led to the generation of agricultural surpluses. These in turn enabled societies in different parts of the world to make the transition from a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle to one based on communities living in per￾manent settlements

Frying, especially deep fat frying, has become the most popular food prepara￾tion technology during the last five decades. The reason is that the preparation is easy even for less experienced cooks, the procedure is rapid, and the finished product is highly palatable. In the frying procedure, fat is the medium of heat transfer. Two main frying methods exist, namely shallow frying and deep frying

Vitamins, by their definition, are essential to health and have to be obtained from the diet on a regular basis because, with the exception of vitamin D, they cannot be produced by the body. In terms of medicine and nutrition, our knowledge of vitamins is relatively recent. Although James Lind discovered an association

8.1 Introduction The question of why it is necessary to improve the nutritional value of plant foods is one that at first hand might seem difficult to justify. What evidence is there that this is a problem? In the developed world there are no overt signs of malnutri￾tion even amongst strict

6.1 Introduction: the problem of providing nutrition information Developments in nutrition research and improved scientific understanding of the relationship between diet and health have led to increasing interest in the nutri￾tional aspects of the food supply. This interest is shared by academics, health professionals, government officials, consumers and the food and supplement industries alike, although not always for the same reasons and generally at dif￾ferent levels of knowledge and understanding. Interest in nutrition, in respect of both total diet and individual foods, is second only to concern about food safety

‘Genetically modified food’ has become the object of a heated debate by con￾sumer activists and replaced irradiation’s leading role as a target. In this debate the term irradiation is frequently confused with radioactive contamination, espe￾cially after the Chernobyl accident. The allegation is made that the nuclear indus￾try needs food irradiation badly in order to find some use for the waste from