Thermal processing is one of the most conventional and frequently applied processing techniques in the food industry. It provides ways to eliminate pathogenic micro-organisms, prolong the shelf-life of food products, enhance the digestibility of the nutrients, and improve the palatability and sensory aspects of foods. However, despite the abovementioned advantages, thermal processing also brings health threats to consumers. Chemical reactions involved in the thermal processing, such as the Maillard reaction and caramelization, and lipid and sugars degradation, always generate not only pleasant flavors and colors but also chemical hazards that are proven to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, or genotoxic. The most well-known food-borne hazards include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic amines, acrylamide, 3-monochloropropanodiol, acrolein and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. Moreover, the reactions under thermal conditions, such as the Maillard reaction, are incredibly complex that novel food-borne hazards are continuously being discovered in these decades. Therefore, investigations on the novel methodologies for the determination of various hazards, their formation mechanism and the mitigation strategies are extensively demanded to control food safety and improve public health.
This Research Topic aims to fill the gap in the knowledge about endogenous hazardous substances derived from the thermal processing of foods by introducing the latest research progresses in analytical techniques, the formation mechanisms and control strategies of the hazardous substances. The control of food-borne hazards is a necessary request for guarantying public health, which relies on the theoretical elucidation of the mechanisms related to the formation and mitigation of the hazards. Accurate, rapid, simple and high-throughput screening of hazardous substances provides the solid basis for the mechanism investigation. Thus, the main focuses of the research topic involve the current and novel methodologies for the determination of the endogenous hazardous compounds in a complex food matrix, the mechanism involved in the generation of hazardous substances, and the consequent control strategies developed for the improvement of food safety.
We welcome all types of articles accepted in the Food Chemistry specialty section with a focus on the following themes:
• Innovative sample pretreatment methods for reliable determination of hazardous substances in complex food matrix;
• Improved experimental layouts using different analytical approaches for hazard determination;
• Real-time and/or high throughput measurements for the analysis of food-borne hazardous substances in complex food matrix;
• Updates in the chemical interactions involved in the formation of hazardous substances;
• Novel potential hazardous substances in foods and their formation and elimination mechanism;
• Food-borne hazardous substances related to the food processing procedures and applied conditions;
• Strategies for the inhibition and/or elimination of hazardous substances in thermally processed foods.
Thermal processing is one of the most conventional and frequently applied processing techniques in the food industry. It provides ways to eliminate pathogenic micro-organisms, prolong the shelf-life of food products, enhance the digestibility of the nutrients, and improve the palatability and sensory aspects of foods. However, despite the abovementioned advantages, thermal processing also brings health threats to consumers. Chemical reactions involved in the thermal processing, such as the Maillard reaction and caramelization, and lipid and sugars degradation, always generate not only pleasant flavors and colors but also chemical hazards that are proven to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, or genotoxic. The most well-known food-borne hazards include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic amines, acrylamide, 3-monochloropropanodiol, acrolein and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. Moreover, the reactions under thermal conditions, such as the Maillard reaction, are incredibly complex that novel food-borne hazards are continuously being discovered in these decades. Therefore, investigations on the novel methodologies for the determination of various hazards, their formation mechanism and the mitigation strategies are extensively demanded to control food safety and improve public health.
This Research Topic aims to fill the gap in the knowledge about endogenous hazardous substances derived from the thermal processing of foods by introducing the latest research progresses in analytical techniques, the formation mechanisms and control strategies of the hazardous substances. The control of food-borne hazards is a necessary request for guarantying public health, which relies on the theoretical elucidation of the mechanisms related to the formation and mitigation of the hazards. Accurate, rapid, simple and high-throughput screening of hazardous substances provides the solid basis for the mechanism investigation. Thus, the main focuses of the research topic involve the current and novel methodologies for the determination of the endogenous hazardous compounds in a complex food matrix, the mechanism involved in the generation of hazardous substances, and the consequent control strategies developed for the improvement of food safety.
We welcome all types of articles accepted in the Food Chemistry specialty section with a focus on the following themes:
• Innovative sample pretreatment methods for reliable determination of hazardous substances in complex food matrix;
• Improved experimental layouts using different analytical approaches for hazard determination;
• Real-time and/or high throughput measurements for the analysis of food-borne hazardous substances in complex food matrix;
• Updates in the chemical interactions involved in the formation of hazardous substances;
• Novel potential hazardous substances in foods and their formation and elimination mechanism;
• Food-borne hazardous substances related to the food processing procedures and applied conditions;
• Strategies for the inhibition and/or elimination of hazardous substances in thermally processed foods.
