Rapid and on-line instrumentation for
food quality assurance

Explore the technical principles, industrial applications and potential benefits of rapid analysis for cost-effective assurance of the safety, quality and authenticity of food products.

Time is of the essence in food analysis - obtaining results more quickly can mean faster decisions on factors affecting product safety and quality, less down-time during production, and more efficient use of storage and distribution facilities. The ultimate analytical system could provide reliable results from non-destructive analyses carried out on-line. This detailed reference book describes the food industry's progress towards such a goal in recent years.

Written by an international team of distinguished specialists, it assesses a range of technologies, summarising their current status and their potential for rapid and on-line applications. Part 1 looks at methods for use in assessing product safety. These range from systems for on-line detection of foreign bodies to the rapid detection of pathogenic microbes, toxins, and pesticide, veterinary andantimicrobial residues. Part II focuses on quality and authenticity, with examples such as detecting GM ingredients, monitoring food composition and raw material quality, and detecting added water in foodstuffs. The book as a whole addresses systems as wide ranging as antibody methods and DNA methods, biosensors, spectroscopy, x-rayfluorescence, advanced microscopy systems, and rapid volatile detection systems ('electronic noses'). It will be of interest to all industry professionals involved in or needing to appreciate rapid analysis of foods.

Contents

• Introduction

Part I - Product safety

• On-line detection of contaminants
• On-line immunochemical assays for contaminant analysis
• Using bioassays in contaminant analysis
• The rapid detection of pesticides in food
• Detecting antimicrobial drug residues
• Detecting veterinary drug residues
• The rapid detection of toxins in food: a case study
• Rapid detection methods for microbial contamination
• Rapid analysis of microbial contamination of water

Part II - Product quality

• Rapid techniques for analysing food additives and micronutrients
• Detecting genetically modified ingredients
• In-line sensors for food process monitoring and control
• Measurement of added water in foodstuffs
• Spectroscopic techniques for analysing raw material quality
• Using spectroscopic techniques to monitor food composition
• Confocal scanning laser microscopy for monitoring food composition
• Using electronic noses to assess food quality
• Rapid olfaction arrays for determining fish quality
• On-line analysis and control of product quality

Hardback book - 406 pages