Processing Foods: Process Optimization and Quality Assessment

For a long time, the basic and only function of foods was to provide the nutrients and energy needed for human physiological processes. Since the conditions of food security have been reduced over the past century, the expectations placed on food have constantly changed and new demands have emerged. It is expected that foods should not only be safe, but they also tastier and appealing, have a long shelf-life, contain as much of the physiologically beneficial components of the raw materials as possible and have a positive impact on consumers' health. Industrial food production needs to meet these diverse demands in a way that is economically viable and environmentally friendly, while being flexible to the ever-changing needs. Fortunately, there is a wealth of research to help the food industry, and there is an increase in the amount of information available on the physiological effects of the nutrients of our foods, their health-protecting role, and how different processing operations change their quantitative and compositional values. At the same time, the changing consumer needs are influencing the expectations and tasks related to offline and online quality analysis and quality assurance. "Processing Foods: Process Optimization and Quality Assessment" provides a snapshot of new advances in unit operations of food production for healthy nutrition.