Food Quality, Sensory Properties and Processing
1. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
Good Manufacturing Practices are systems and procedures used to ensure that foods are consistently produced, handled, stored, and controlled under hygienic and suitable conditions. GMP requirements vary by jurisdiction and food sector.
2. Food quality criteria
Important consumer-related food-quality attributes include appearance, colour, texture, flavour, aroma, nutritional value, safety, and overall acceptability. The relative importance of each attribute depends on the food product.
3. Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness is a texture parameter describing the degree to which a food structure holds together before breaking or disintegrating. It is commonly measured instrumentally using texture-profile analysis.
4. Gumminess
Gumminess is a texture-profile parameter generally associated with the energy required to disintegrate a semi-solid food to a state suitable for swallowing. It is calculated from hardness and cohesiveness in instrumental texture analysis.
5. Viscosity
Viscosity is the resistance of a fluid to deformation or flow. In food systems, it is commonly measured using rotational, capillary, or other appropriate rheological methods.
6. Flavour
Flavour is a sensory attribute produced by the combined perception of taste, retronasal aroma, and other chemical sensations. It should not be defined as aroma alone.
7. Factors affecting food quality
Food quality can be influenced by genetic factors, cultivar or breed, pre-harvest conditions, maturity, harvesting practices, handling, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, and distribution conditions.
8. Gibberellic acid
Gibberellic acid and related gibberellins are plant growth regulators that can influence fruit development, cell expansion, fruit set, and other physiological processes. Their effects depend on the crop, cultivar, concentration, timing, and method of application.
9. Pruning and fruit quality
Pruning can influence fruit size, yield, colour development, acidity, soluble-solids concentration, and canopy microclimate. The response depends on crop species, cultivar, pruning system, season, and environmental conditions.
Instruments for Food and Grain Quality
10. Alveograph
An alveograph measures the deformation behaviour of dough by inflating a dough sheet into a bubble. It provides parameters related to dough resistance, extensibility, and deformation energy and is widely used for wheat-flour quality evaluation.
11. Mixograph and Farinograph
A mixograph and farinograph are dough-testing instruments used to evaluate characteristics such as water absorption, mixing behaviour, development time, dough stability, and tolerance to mixing, depending on the instrument and test protocol.
12. Succulometer
A succulometer is an instrument historically used to evaluate the firmness or tenderness of certain fruits and vegetables, including sweet corn. Instrument selection and interpretation depend on the commodity and test method.
13. Tendrometer
A tendrometer is used to measure the tenderness or firmness of plant tissues, particularly peas and other vegetables. The measurement provides an instrumental indication of maturity and texture.
14. Fruit-texture instruments
Instruments used for evaluating fruit texture include texture analyzers, puncture testers, penetrometers, and fibrometers. The appropriate instrument depends on the fruit and the texture property being measured.
15. Astringency
Astringency is a dry, puckering, rough, or tightening sensation in the mouth associated mainly with interactions between salivary proteins and certain food compounds, particularly tannins and other polyphenols. These interactions reduce lubrication of oral surfaces.
16. Water activity
Water activity (a**<sub>w</sub>**) represents the availability of water in a food for chemical reactions and microbial growth. It is different from total moisture content and is an important parameter in food stability and preservation.
Vitamins and Minerals
17. Fat-soluble vitamins
The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E, and K. They are absorbed with dietary lipids and can be stored in body tissues to varying degrees.
18. Water-soluble vitamins
The water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C and the B-group vitamins: thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, biotin, folate, and vitamin B12.
19. Essential minerals
Essential minerals are inorganic elements required for normal physiological functions. Important essential minerals include iron (Fe), copper (Cu), iodine (I), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), selenium (Se), cobalt (Co), fluoride (F), and others, depending on the established nutritional classification. Not every element listed historically as “essential” has the same level of established human nutritional evidence.