This Brief defines reliable correlations between the food packaging design and its chemical features in terms of an 'integrated food product' (the synergistic union composed of the edible content and its container). A good design, as described in this Brief, implies the best choices from a series of possibilities, taking into account economical and commercial influences or limitations in the production and processing chain and the chemical interactions that can arise between the food containers and the contained edible material. This Brief highlights how the different requirements can be...

This Brief provides a general description of the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). It describes the RASFF approach on the legal level and with reference to notification procedures, including also new tools, which were launched in 2014: iRASFF and the RASFF Consumer Portal. In an introduction, the present status of the RASFF, which had originally been introduced in 1979, is briefly reviewed. It is described as the main basis of modern food policy in Europe, enabling member countries to take rapid corrective actions on the one hand, and to perform statistically reliable...

This Brief presents a chemical perspective on frozen vegetables, also known as "ready-to-use" foods. Particular attention is given to the microbiological colonization of vegetables during the freezing treatments and to the chemical and physical modifications associated.

This SpringerBrief explains the importance of Maillard reactions in food processing. formation of antioxidants), the Brief discusses that there are also conditions where Maillard reactions can result in toxic or mutagenic reactions.

This Brief reviews thermal processes in the food industry - pasteurization, sterilization, UHT processes, and others. It evaluates the effects on a chemical level and possible failures from a safety viewpoint, and discusses in how far the effects can be predicted. In addition, historical preservation techniques - smoking, addition of natural additives, irradiation, etc. - are compared with current industrial systems, like fermentation, irradiation, addition of food-grade chemicals. The Brief critically discusses storage protocols - cooling, freezing, etc. - and packing systems (modified...