Food Technology
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From the sublime to the ridiculous
The sublime
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Advances in frozen and processed foods
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Progress in plant breeding
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Sugar substitutes, processed foods with lower fat and sodium
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Animals bred for lower fat
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Advances in feeding hospitalized patients
The ridiculous
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Twinkies with a two-year shelf life
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Peeps
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Pop Rocks
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“Cheese” in aerosol cans
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Vitamin-laced bottled water
Food additives
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Substances added to food to perform specific functions
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Direct additive--added for a purpose (color, emulsifier)
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Indirect--unintentional additive from packaging, storage, or handling
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Both regulated by the FDA
Intentional food additives
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Antimicrobial agents--nitrites
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Antioxidants--vitamin E in oil, sulfites, BHA & BHT
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Texture and stability--emulsifiers and gums
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Flavors & flavor enhancers
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Natural
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Artificial
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Color additives--red dye #40, yellow #5
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Nutrient additives--iodized salt
FDA Additive Regulations
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Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)--salt, sugar, spices, MSG
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Prior-sanctioned substance--nitrites
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Delaney Clause-- “No additive shall be deemed to be safe if it is found to induce cancer when ingested [at any level] by man or animal”
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Any new additive has to pass FDA scrutiny

Unintentional Additives
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Plasticizers in microwave packaging
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Dioxins in coffee filters
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Methylene chloride in decaf coffee
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Hormones--recombinant bovine growth hormone
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Antibiotics
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Pesticides
Food Preservation Practices
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Traditional--drying, fermentation, salting
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Newer--canning, freezing, pasteurization
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Irradiation--FDA approved to kill bacteria and insects in:
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Spices
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Fruits and vegetables
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Poultry and red meats
Genetically Modified Foods
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Humans have been doing this for ages; only the technology has changed
Traditional plant (or animal) breeding
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Mate two different breeds with positive characteristics
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Check the offspring for the desirable traits
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This can be a long and cumbersome process
New-age plant (or animal) breeding
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Insert gene of desirable characteristic (pest resistance, enzymes to make a nutrient) into genome of organism
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Gene may be from same or different species
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Quicker, but not foolproof
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Inserted gene may be an allergen
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European Union reluctant to adopt GM foods
Organic Foods
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In 2000 USDA finally adopted labeling requirements for organic foods
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Not necessarily safer than non-organic products
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See next slide for details