Chemical and physicochemical interactions between components and their influence on food stability. Chapter 6.

GERSCHENSON L.N., CAMPOS C.A., ROJAS A.M. Y BINSTOK G.

Minimally Processed fruits and vegetables: Fundamental Aspects and Applications. Edited by Alzamora S.M., Tapia M.S. y López-Malo A.

Aspen Publishers, Inc.

Lugar: Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.; Año: 2000; p. 101 - 109

Abstract: When developing a new product or modifying a previously existent one, food technologists must decide the composition and conditions of processing that can provide the adequate microbiologic stability while fulfilling the nutritional and organoleptic standards required. It is universally known that the quality of a food product is related to the quality of its constituents. A food product contents many classes of components: some are presents in large proportions (water, lipids, carbohydrates, proteins), whereas others are present in samall amounts (i.e., minerals, vitamins, flavors, and additives). Chemical and physicochemical interactions can occur among these components during processing and storage, determining that the quality of a food product is also related to the nature of component interaction. It is important that interactions be understood so that beneficialproperties arising from ingredient interactions can be optimized, and interactions resulting in detrimental effects on the food can be minimized. However, the complexity of real food products possesses a strong limitation for understanding the exact mechanisms that control diferent interactions, often requiring the study of interactions in model systems. This chapter is not expected to be exhaustive but to provide some additional elements to the discussion concerning the importance of component interaction on shelf stability of food products through the analysis of some cases of interest related to ascorbic and sorbic acids stability in food model systems.