Physical Methods in Food Analysis

A symposium titled "Physical Methods in Food Analysis" was presented at the Fall National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Philadelphia in August 2012. The symposium was sponsored by the ACS Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Inc. (AGFD), which is in the forefront in the dissemination of knowledge about food chemistry. This book includes ten chapters based on the talks given at that symposium. Chapter 1 describes how poppy, cotton seed, soybean, and canola seed oils can be examined with reverse phase high performance thin layer chromatography and viscosity measurements in an attempt to differentiate between them. Continuing with the theme of distinguishing between foods, Chapter 2 discusses the use of ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography accurate mass quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization for analyzing flavonoid-based compounds in onions, for the purpose of varietal identification. Chapter 3 details
the use of high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for quality control and product standardization of the East Asian botanical jiaogulan. In Chapter 4, lanthanide-sensitized luminescence spectrometry is applied to detection of tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones in food. Chapter 5 shows how glycemic index may be determined for extruded grains blended with whey protein or cashew pulp. Polymethoxyflavones and derivatives, which occur in citrus fruits, are described in Chapter 6 along with chromatographic techniques for analyzing them. Chapter 7 discusses rheology as a method for looking at characteristics of bioplastics. The book wraps up with three chapters centering on color. Blue pigments, which are scarce in nature, are covered in Chapter 8 along with methods for separating and identifying them. In Chapter 9, resonance Raman spectroscopy was used to identify blue and red forms of anthrocyanins in grapes at various pH levels. A description of color changes in polydiacetylene-based smart packaging, and Raman spectroscopic methods for measuring them, are found in Chapter 10.

Michael H. Tunick is affiliated with the Dairy & Functional Foods Research Unit at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Charles I. Onwulata is Director of the Office of the Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.