Food Quality

The field of food quality assurance has evolved substantially over the past decade, and certain key developments have become widely accepted. These include Quality Systems (e.g., ISO 9000) and HACCP. Consequently, it has become essential for undergraduate Food Science and Food Technology students preparing for careers in the food industry to have some basic training in these systems as part of the curricula in their university or college programs. Food Quality Assurance: Principles and Practices integrates the latest principles, practices, and terminology of food safety systems with those of quality management systems to provide an understanding of a single food quality management system. Chapters define industry terminology, review the differences and components of food quality and food safety, explain Quality Programs and Quality Systems, and thoroughly examine Good Manufacturing Practices and HACCP. Written primarily as an undergraduate-level text for Food Quality Assurance and Food Quality Management courses, the book combines the fundamentals of food safety and quality systems with the latest data from recognized international and national organizations. This is an essential guide for teaching food quality assurance to students.

The field of food quality assurance has evolved substantially over the past decade, and certain key developments have become widely accepted. These include Quality Systems (e.g., ISO 9000) and HACCP. Consequently, it has become essential for undergraduate Food Science and Food Technology students preparing for careers in the food industry to have some basic training in these systems as part of the curricula in their university or college programs. Food Quality Assurance: Principles and Practices integrates the latest principles, practices, and terminology of food safety systems with those of quality management systems to provide an understanding of a single food quality management system. Chapters define industry terminology, review the differences and components of food quality and food safety, explain Quality Programs and Quality Systems, and thoroughly examine Good Manufacturing Practices and HACCP. Written primarily as an undergraduate-level text for Food Quality Assurance and Food Quality Management courses, the book combines the fundamentals of food safety and quality systems with the latest data from recognized international and national organizations. This is an essential guide for teaching food quality assurance to students.

The present book collects selected contributions from researchers working in the field of food science, and participating at the second spring school for “Food Quality, Safety and Technology,” which was held in Botucatu (São Paulo, Brazil), from September 24th to 27th, 2012, at the Botucatu Campus of the Universidade Estadual Paulista “Julio Mesquita Filho” (UNESP). The goal of the conference was to provide a scientific forum covering large areas of agronomy, nutrition, food science and technology, veterinary and other areas related to food technology development. Teachers, professionals, graduate and post-graduate students in Food Science; Food and Agriculture Engineering; Veterinary, Science and Food Technology and related areas were addressed by providing an exchange of knowledge and technologies. The initiative aimed to establish uniform, globally recognized scientific principles on food safety and quality, which could be consistently applied to industry and production sectors and stakeholders, taking into account that effective food control systems are essential to protecting the health and safety of domestic consumers, to guaranteeing the safety and quality of foods entering international trade, and to ensuring that imported foods conform to national requirements.

Food Quality and Shelf Life covers all aspects and challenges of food preservation, packaging and shelf-life. It provides information on the most important pillars in the field, starting with active and smart packaging materials, novel technologies, and control tools in all stages between production and consumer. The book gives emphasis to methodological approaches for sensory shelf-life estimation and the impact of packaging on sensorial properties. Researchers and professionals alike will find this reference useful, especially those who are interested in the performance evaluation of future packaging for fresh produce in the cold chain and temperature management in the supply chain. Presents insights regarding new trends in emerging technologies in the field Includes hot topics, such as modified atmosphere packaging and active materials to improve shelf-life Provides shelf-life assessment and modeling methodologies and accelerated shelf-life testing

The first book in this rapidly expanding area, Computer Vision Technology for Food Quality Evaluation thoroughly discusses the latest advances in image processing and analysis. Computer vision has attracted much research and development attention in recent years and, as a result, significant scientific and technological advances have been made in quality inspection, classification and evaluation of a wide range of food and agricultural products. This unique work provides engineers and technologists working in research, development, and operations in the food industry with critical, comprehensive and readily accessible information on the art and science of computer vision technology. Undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in universities and research institutions will also find this an essential reference source. · Discusses novel technology for recognizing objects and extracting quantitative information from digital images in order to provide objective, rapid, non-contact and non-destructive quality evaluation. · International authors with both academic and professional credentials address in detail one aspect of the relevant technology per chapter making this ideal for textbook use · Divided into three parts, it begins with an outline of the fundamentals of the technology, followed by full coverage of the application in the most researched areas of meats and other foods, fruits, vegetables and grains.

Food companies, regardless of their size and scope, understand that it is impossible to establish a single division devoted to "quality", as quality is the responsibility and purpose of every company employee. Applying this theory demands the cooperation of each employee and an understanding of the methodology necessary to establish, implement, and

This edited volume evaluates recent EU quality policy, focusing on the structure, governance, technical specifications and performances – economic, environmental and social – of Food Quality Schemes (FQS) in the European Union and South East Asia. The intended benefits of FQS include generating a fair return for farmers and producers, and enabling consumers to make better‐informed purchasing choices through effective labeling. In addition, policy makers now consider FQS as a means of guaranteeing not only quality in food production, but also sustainability. Despite these potential benefits, the economic performance of the FQS (e.g. PDO, PGI, organic) has been variable. While some support significant value‐added production, with substantial benefits to producers, consumers and wider economies, many others have failed to become economically sustainable. In addition, the environmental and social performance of FQS remains largely unexamined, with the exception of the environmental performance of organic products. The editors examine these discrepancies and offer a nuanced evaluation of the effectiveness of such policies. Several unique features make this volume a key resource for those interested in FQS and in the sustainability of food products. The editors provide a concise description of the value chain, the governance and the technical specifications of 27 FQS in Europe and South East Asia. The editors also provide a sustainability assessment of each of these FQS, and support or question the view that FQS are moving from “quality” to “sustainability.” Finally, the volume serves as a repository of key data on these FQS. Readers have access to the raw data necessary to compute the indicators used in the sustainability assessment (eg. value added, number of jobs, quantity of fertilizers, etc), allowing them to conduct novel re-analysis. The book is designed for an interdisciplinary audience of academics, policy makers, and stakeholders. The compilation of FQS case studies makes it a useful reference for researchers and students of food policy, geography, food anthropology, local and rural development, local agri-food systems and agri-food chains. Stakeholders such as national and European regulators, entities responsible for FQS technical specifications, and embassy staff will also find the information relevant. Additionally, individuals helping to implement food quality schemes, including auditors, producers, and consumer associates, as well as stakeholders in the sustainability of food products, including farmers, farmer's associations, and environmental NGOs, will also find the information relevant and important for their work.