The book is introduced with an overview of the major chemical changes in food during processing to orient the reader as to its scope and to give a general feel for the areas covered. A major part of the initial section of the volume focuses on the chemistry and biochemistry of oxygen and oxidative reactions as influenced by environmental factors metals enzymes and ionizing radiation. These pervasive reactions are major causes for changes observed in foods during processing and storage. Recent emphasis given to the so-called active-oxygen species in initiating oxidative alterations in biological materials dictates a treatment of their relevance to changes in foods. Although we are accustomed to thinking of metals primarily in terms of redox reactions a variety of ionic reactions catalyzed by these agents and their chelates is discussed from a mechanistic point of view.
NA
