FOOD CHEMISTRY

An overview
Dr. Nguyen Van Toan (PhD)
 Food Chemistry?
➢What does food chemistry concern about?
Food chemistry Concerns about food exists throughout the
world
What is Food?:
Check with the following different definitions:
❖ Food is defined to be anything designed for human’ oral
consumption
❖ Food is any substance whether processed, partially processed, or raw
that is intended for human consumption
❖ Food is any substance used in preparation or manufacture of food

*****Today, Food is available in abundance, much of it is processed, and

notably the use of chemical additives is common.
So, what is food chemistry?
✓Food Chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of
all biological and non- biological components of foods

✓ Food Chemistry covers the basic composition, structure and

properties of foods and the chemistry changes occurring during
processing and utilization

✓ Food Chemistry also covers the chemistry of

▪ Water,
▪ Carbohydrates,
▪ Proteins,
▪ Lipids,
▪ Vitamins,
▪ Minerals and
▪ Enzymes.
Therefore, concerns about food mainly relate to:
➢ cost,
➢quality,
➢variety,
➢ convenience, and
➢the effects of processing and added chemicals on wholesomeness as
well as nutritive value.
➢ Remember that all of these concerns fall within the realm of food
science – a science that deals with

▪ The physical,
▪ Chemical, and
▪ Biological properties of foods

As why? ( next slide)

As they relate to:
✓ Cost,
✓ Stability,,
✓ quality,
✓ processing,
✓ safety,
✓ nutritive value,
✓ wholesomeness, and
✓ convenience.
Food chemistry is the basis of food science
❖ Food science is the applied science devoted to the study of food

❖ According to the Institute of Food Technologists, food science is

defined as "the discipline in which:

❑ The engineering,
❑ Biological, and are used to study:
❑ Physical sciences

✓ The nature of foods,

✓ The causes of deterioration,
✓ The principles underlying food processing, and
✓ The improvement of foods for the consuming public
 Food science deals with:

➢ Water
➢ Carbohydrates
➢ Lipids

➢ Proteins

➢ Micronutrients

➢ Phytochemicals, and

➢ Others
The underlined texts above are three primary components in food
History of Food Chemistry
❖The origins of food chemistry are obscure, and details of its history have not
yet been rigorously studied and recorded.

❖Although the origin of food chemistry, in a sense, extends to antiquity, the

most significant discoveries, as we judge them today, began in the late 1700s.

❖ During the period of 1780–1850 a number of famous chemists made

important discoveries, many of which related directly or indirectly to the
chemistry of food. The works of Scheele, Lavoisier, de Saussure, Gay-Lussac,
Thenard, Davy, Berzelius, Thomson, Beaumont, and Liebig contain the origins
of modern food chemistry. ( Read more in the given reference books)
Approach to the Study of Food Chemistry
It is desirable to establish an analytical approach to

❖The chemistry of food formulation,

❖Food Processing, and
❖Food storage stability

So that facts derived from the study of one food or model system
can enhance our understanding of other products.
There are four components to this approach:
(a) determining the properties that are important characteristics of safe and high-quality
foods,

(b) determining the chemical and biochemical reactions that have important influences
on loss of quality and/or wholesomeness of foods,

(c) integrating the first two points[ ( a) and (b)] so that we can understand how the key
chemical and biochemical reactions influence quality and safety, and

(d) applying our understanding to various situations encountered during formulation,

processing, and storage of food, as:
✓Quality and safety attributes
✓ Chemical and biochemical reactions
✓ Effect of reactions on the quality and safety of food
✓ Analysis of situations encountered during the storage and processing of food
 Societal Role of Food Chemists
Why should food chemists/ food technologists become involved in
societal issues?

Food technologists, for the following reasons, should feel obligated to

become involved in societal issues that encompass pertinent
technological aspects (technosocietal issues).

Food technologists have had the privilege of receiving a high level of

education and of acquiring special scientific skills, and these privileges
and skills carry with them a corresponding high level of responsibility.
 Societal Role of Food Chemists
• Activities of Food technologists influence adequacy of the food supply,
healthfulness of the population, cost of foods, waste creation and
disposal, water and energy use, and the nature of food regulations.
Because these matters impinge on the general welfare of the public, it is
reasonable that food chemists should feel a responsibility to have their
activities directed to the benefit of society.
• If Food technologists do not become involved in technosocietal issues,
the opinions of others - scientists from other professions, professional
lobbyists, persons in the news media, consumer activists, charlatans,
antitechnology zealot - will prevail. Many of these individuals are less
qualified than food chemists to speak on food-related issues, and some
are obviously unqualified.
 Types of Involvement
1. Participate in pertinent professional societies.

2. Serve on governmental advisory committees, when invited.

3. Undertake personal initiatives of a public service nature.

Foods Are Made of Chemicals
❖ Single elements
❖ Chemically bonded elements (compounds)
Electrons Distributed via Energy Layers
Common Chemical Bonds in Foods
❖ Covalent
 Sharing 1 or more pairs of electrons
 Very strong bonds, not easily broken in foods
 C-C or C=C bonds
❖ Ionic
 Filling of orbitals through the transfer of electrons
 Cations (+) and Anions (-); Na+ + Cl- => NaCl
❖ Hydrogen
 Compounds containing O or N with bound hydrogen
 Very weak bonds; C-H or N-H
Functional Groups in Foods
 Required Textbook:

Food Chemistry- 4th revised and extended Edition, edited by H.-D. Belitz; W. Grosch;
P. Schieberle, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009

Principles of Food Chemistry - Third Edition by John deMan, 1999, Aspen Publishers,
Inc., Gathersburg, Maryland
Thank you for your attention
Good luck to you!!!