Food Proteins and Peptides:
Chemistry Functionality, Interactions and Commercialization

Edited by Navam S. Hettiarachchy

A multidisciplinary resource, Food Proteins and Peptides: Chemistry, Functionality, Interactions, and Commercialization enables researchers in biochemistry, biotechnology, food science and technology, nutrition, and medicine to understand the physicochemical and biochemical factors that govern the functionality of these food components. Following chapters on the structure and chemistry of amino acids, peptides, and proteins, the book describes modes of characterization and the functional relationships of food proteins. It examines protein solubility and insolubility and explores proteins and peptides as emulsifying and foaming agents.

Specialized topics include:

• Factors affecting heat-induced casein-whey protein interactions in 
bovine milk systems
• The effects of protein-saccharide interactions on the properties of food
components
• Ameliorative action of peptides on cholesterol and lipid metabolism
• Proteins and peptides with elements of sweetness, kokumi, umami,
and bitterness
• A new approach for the large-scale fractionation of peptides based
on their amphoteric nature

The book examines the source of bioactive peptides and describes their   bioavailability, including their absorption and occurrence in human blood. It also provides a database of biologically active proteins and peptides. Final chapters review current status, future industrial perspectives, and future trends of bioactive food proteins and peptides and explore the role of nanotechnology in protein research.

With contributions from a panel of international scientists, this volume captures
the state of the art in protein and peptide research, providing a launching pad for
further inquiry and discovery.

Green Vegetable Oil Processing

Edited by Walter E. Farr and Andrew Proctor

The vegetable oil processing industry is a large and profitable sector of the international food business community. Current processing technologies and increased oil-seed production developed in the twentieth century have been very successful in the industrial scale production of commercially available plant oils. The technologies were developed to extract and process vegetable oil when energy costs were relatively low and the environmental impact of plant operations and chemical use were not a significant consideration, These processing techniques provided generations of consumers reliable, safe, food oil based foods, at a very reasonable cost. However, for many modern affluent consumers price is not the only consideration when purchasing food and other consumer products. They now wish to purchase 'green' food products that require less energy for production and transport, and are thus perceived as being environmentally responsible. This change in consumer perception is an opportunity by the vegetable oil industry to reduce costs of energy and materials, by increasing processing efficiency through development of new innovative technologies.

Alternative green food processing technologies have gained much technical and industrial attention in recent years as a potential means of reducing costs and promoting consumer awareness of corporate environmental responsibility. However, utilizing green principles is now becoming an effective business approach to enhance vegetable oil processing profitability. This can be done by reduced use of fossil fuels, organic solvents, and other chemicals in processing operations. Such practices will increase the sustainability of the vegetable oil processing industry and reduce the environmental footprint produced. The book addresses alternative green technologies at various stages of oilseed and vegetable oil processing. This includes oil extraction technologies such expeller, green extraction processes, including aqueous and supercritical methods; and green modifications of conventional unit operations, such as degumming, refining, bleaching, hydrogenation, winterizing/dewaxing, fractionation and deodorization (physical refining). A range of technologies are described, from those already in commercial use to those that are still in development stages. While most chapters describe soy oil processing, the techniques described are equally applicable to oils and fats in general.

Analysis of Antioxidant-Rich Phytochemicals

Edited by Zhimin Xu and Luke R. Howard

Antioxidant-rich phytochemicals in plants and agricultural food products have become an attractive subject for food, biomedical and nutrition scientists, as well as for food producers. Unlike synthetic food antioxidants, antioxidants from natural sources are generally recognized as safe for food applications and most have been confirmed as having health-promoting functions in relation to various human epidemiological diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, obesity and diabetes. In addition to their antioxidant function, many phytochemicals have been found to alter cell signaling pathways and gene expression, and thus have the ability to regulate numerous physiological functions involved in the pathogenesis of various chronic diseases.

Natural antioxidant phytochemicals usually exist at a very low level, and differ from proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, which are macro-nutrients and abundant in food products. They are microconstituents in plants and agricultural and food products. Furthermore, the type and quantity of antioxidant phytochemicals vary significantly from source to source. Different types of antioxidants may have different antioxidant activity and bioavailability. Although most antioxidant have UV absorption, using the tradition spectrophotometric method to quantify the antioxidants is not practical because they could be significantly masked or interfered with by many other compounds in the sources. Thus, the analysis methods for antioxidant phytochemicals are more complicated and sophisticated than those employed for macro-nutrient compounds.

Alternatives to Conventional Food Processing

Edited by Andrew Proctor

This multi-contributed book is edited by an expert in the field and includes chapters from across the globe. It is fully cross-disciplinary relating green principles to the food industry, covering legal and policy issues, engineering, food processing and food science. It addresses the alternatives to conventional food processing that have reduced energy requirements or solvent use and how they affect final food quality.

Initially, the principles of green chemistry and technologies are outlined to provide a justification and basis for the processing methods that are addressed. This is followed by a discussion of legal and policy issues in both the EU and the US which provide further justification for the need for such technologies and the constraints and benefits of current policies and regulations. The major green technologies available to the food industry are discussed, outlining the main principles and applications of each. The degree to which they are already in commercial use and developments needed to extend their use further are also covered.

Organic Meat Production and Processing

Edited by Steven C. Ricke, Ellen J. Van Loo, Michael G. Johnson and Corliss A. O'Bryan

Consumers purchase organic meats for what they perceive as superior taste, better nutritional value, long-term health benefits, or enhanced product freshness. Many consumers also believe organic meat is safer than conventional, perhaps containing lesser amounts of pesticides or foodbome human pathogens. Organic livestock farming, which is reputed to be environmentally friendly and sustains animals in good health resulting in high quality products, has a defined standard with a greater
attention to animal welfare and requiring at least 80 percent of feed grown without pesticides or artificial fertilizers. The higher guarantee of the absence of residue is certain, but the effect of organic farming on qualitative characteristics of the products is unknown. Substantial growth in organic food sales of all categories has occurred in recent years and certified organic food production has evolved
into a highly regulated industry in the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries.

Organic Meat Production and Processing examines in detail the challenges of production, processing and food safety of organic meat. The editors and an International collection of authors explore the trends in organic meats and how the meat industry is impacted. Commencing with chapters on the economics, market and regulatory aspects of organic meats, coverage then extends to management
issues for organically raised and processed meat animals. Processing, sensory and human health aspects are covered in detail, as are incidences of food borne pathogens in organic beef, swine, poultry, and other organic meat species. The book concludes by describing pre-harvest control measures for assuring the safety of organic meats. This book serves as a unique resource for fully understanding the
current and potential issues associated with organic meats.

Bioactive Food Proteins and Peptides:
Applications in Human Health

Edited by Navam Hettiarachchy, Kenji Sato, Maurice Marshall and Arvind Kannan

Many naturally occurring compounds from foods such as rice, vegetables, fruits, and animal products possess properties that help to slow disease progression, inhibit pathophysiological mechanisms, or suppress activities of pathogenic molecules. Proteins and peptides play significant roles in such activities and are gaining importance as nutraceuticals that benefit numerous aspects of health and nutrition. Bioactive Food Proteins and Peptides: Applications in Human Health provides a human health perspective on food-derived proteins and peptides. It describes the potential for large-scale production with advances in technology and proposes challenges and opportunities for the future of health, nutrition, medicine, and the biosciences.

The book begins by addressing properties related to chemistry and bioactivity. It examines proteins and peptides as allergens, antihypertensive agents, antimicrobials, antioxidants, and anticancer agents. It also discusses findings on the bioavailability and toxicity of food-derived peptides and intestinal functions.

Next, the contributors present information on therapeutic peptides. They discuss recent developments in proteomics, bioavailability, and opportunities for designing future peptide-based foods.

Providing a comprehensive review of bioactive proteins and peptides obtained from food sources, the book brings together the most up-to-date and essential information from eminent researchers from all over the world. Academics, food scientists and technologists, nutritionists, biochemists, persons in industry, and government researchers and regulators will find this book to be an essential resource for new data and developments.

Handbook of Sustainability for the Food Sciences

Author: Ruben Morawicki

Many books on sustainability have been written in the last decade, most of them dealing with agricultural systems, communities, and general business practices. In contrast, Handbook of Sustainability for the Food Sciences presents the concept of sustainability as it applies to the food supply chain from farm to fork but with a special emphasis on processing.

Structured in four sections, Handbook of Sustainability for the Food Sciences first covers the basic concepts of environmental sustainability and provides a detailed account of all the impacts of the food supply chain. Part two introduces the management principles of sustainability and the tools required to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and services as well as environmental claims and declarations. Part three looks at ways to alleviate food chain environmental impacts and includes chapters on air emissions, water and wastewater, solid waste, energy, packaging, and transportation. The final part summarizes the concepts presented in the book and looks at the measures that will be required in the near future to guarantee long term sustainability of the food supply chain. Handbook of Sustainability for the Food Sciences is aimed at food science professionals including food engineers, food scientists, product developers, managers, educators, and decision makers. It will also be of interest to students of food science.

Biofuels: Alternative Feedstocks and Conversion Processes

Edited by: Ashok Pandey, Christian Larroche, Steven Ricke, Claude-Gilles Dussap and Edgard Gnansounaou

Global concern for energy security and environmental protection has put great emphasis on the search for alternative energy sources, particularly for the transport sector. Biofuels have emerged as a highly promising source of alternative energy, and have drawn global R&D for their production using biomass.

With the increasing worldwide demand of energy along with the depletion of conventional fossil fuel reserves, there has been growing global interest in developing alternative sources of energy. There has also been concern in growing economies regarding energy security. Biofuels offer much promise on these frontiers. In addition to the above, they also have a reduced environmental impact in comparison to fossil fuels. Biofuels provides state-of-the-art information on the status of biofuel production and related aspects.

• Detailed overview of the alternative energy field and the role of biofuels as new energy sources
• Gives a detailed account of the production of biodiesel from non conventional bio-feedstocks such as algae and vegetable oils
• Includes production of biohydrogen: the fourth generation biofuel

Direct-Fed Microbials and Prebiotics for Animals:
Science and Mechanisms of Action

Edited by: Todd Callaway and Steven Ricke

The practice of supplementing direct fed microbial and prebiotic additives to domestic animals during growth is becoming more widespread in food animal production. Beneficial effects particularly in cattle, pigs and poultry, including improved general health, foodborne pathogen reduction, more efficient food utilization, faster growth rate and increased milk and egg production are common results. The success associated with direct fed microbial and prebiotic applications in multiple species ensures their continued commercialization and the widespread use of such additives. However, several fundamental questions remain about how and why probiotic products work, and which kind of probiotic products are best for specific production scenarios.

It appears that early establishment and retention of an ecological balance in the gastrointestinal tract is an important first step for an external biological additive to be effective in young animals. Therefore, it is possible that the effectiveness of direct fed microbials and prebiotics in some animal species may only be an indirect consequence of speeding up the establishment and succession of the dominant microflora characteristic of the adult gastrointestinal tract. Consequently, an understanding of the key processes during establishment of microflora in the gastrointestinal system that lead to the subsequent fermentation characteristics and ecological balance exhibited by the highly protective microflora is needed. Several additional areas of future research directions are also suggested for further development and implementation of these biological approaches as new molecular and drug delivery technologies become available. Continued research on direct fed microbials and prebiotics in general should markedly expand their commercial applications.

High-Throughput Next Generation Sequencing:
Methods and Applications

Edited by: Young Min Kwon and Steven Ricke

Due to their novel concepts and extraordinary high-throughput sequencing capacity, the “next generation sequencing” methods allow scientists to grasp system-wide landscapes of the complex molecular events taking place in various biological systems, including microorganisms and microbial communities. These methods are now being recognized as essential tools for a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying many biological processes.

In High-Throughput Next Generation Sequencing: Methods and Applications, experts in the field explore the most recent advances in the applications of next generation sequencing technologies with an emphasis on microorganisms and their communities; however, the methods described in this book will also offer general applications relevant to the study of any living organisms.

Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Comprehensive and cutting-edge, High-Throughput Next Generation Sequencing: Methods and Applications is an excellent collection of chapters to aid all scientists who wish to apply these innovative research tools to enhance their own pursuits in microbiology and also biology in general.