Food Chemistry
Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, and milk as examples.
It is similar to biochemistry in its main components such as carbohydrates, lipids, and protein, but it also includes areas such as water, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, food additives, flavors, and colors
This discipline also encompasses how products change under certain food processing techniques and ways either to enhance or to prevent them from happening. An example of enhancing a process would be to encourage fermentation of dairy products with microorganisms that convert lactose to lactic acid; an example of preventing a process would be stopping the browning on the surface of freshly cut Red Delicious applies using lemon juice or other acidulated water.
People specializing in this area
Faculty
Naveen Chikthimmah, Ph.D.
Food safety and microbiology of fruits, vegetables and mushrooms; microbial ecology of food environments and pre-harvest strategies to enhance food safety and quality. Emphasis on teaching and recruitment activities to enhance the undergraduate food science program.
John Coupland, Ph.D.
Physical chemistry of foods; food emulsions and biopolymers and their behavior during processing; ultrasonic sensors.
Ryan J. Elias, Ph.D.
Free radical chemistry of foods: Metal-catalyzed lipid and protein oxidation in complex foods; Redox chemistry of polyphenols; development and evaluation of novel antioxidants; oxidative stability of wine and beer.
Joshua D. Lambert, Ph.D.
Obesity and fatty liver preventive effects of dietary polyphenols; potential hepatotoxicity of high doses of dietary phytochemicals; lung cancer preventive efficacy and mechanisms of action of food-derived phytochemicals; biotransformation and bioavailability of dietary phytochemicals.
Edward W. Mills, Ph.D.
Applications of ingredients and procedures to improve performance of reduced fat meat products. Fat separation technology for preparation of reduced fat meat ingredients. Preparation and packaging to assure flavor and safety of meat products.
Robert Steele, Ph.D.
Amino acids; nitrogen and sulfur metabolism in liver disease; interactions of retinol and one-carbon metabolism; blood-brain barrier transport of nutrients; and ethionine hepatoxicity.
Donald B. Thompson, Ph.D.
Starch molecular structure and physical behavior; novel starch from unique maize genotypes; enzyme-resistant starch, and starch digestion; nutritional effects of food processing treatments, with emphasis on starch.
