Foundations of Food Processing

Vocabulary flashcards covering the core principles, unit operations, food hazards, chemical compositions, and stability reactions from Foundations of Food Processing.

Food

A complex mixture of chemicals that an organism takes in and absorbs to promote growth, expend energy, replace worn or injured tissue, and prevent some diseases.

Food Processing

The set of methods used to extend shelf life, supply essential nutrients, provide diet variety and convenience, and add value by enhancing sensory characteristics.

Unit Operations

The fundamental steps or processes involved in transforming raw agricultural materials into finished food products.

Conduction

A mode of heat transfer occurring within solid foods, wherein thermal energy is transferred directly from one molecule to another from warmer to cooler regions.

Natural Convection

A mode of heat transfer in fluids where movement is driven by density differences resulting from a thermal gradient.

Forced Convection

A mode of heat transfer in fluids where movement and heat exchange are driven or facilitated by mechanical agitation.

Radiation

The transfer of heat energy through electromagnetic waves without requiring a physical medium, capable of occurring in a vacuum.

Mass Transfer

The migration of a component into or out of a food product controlled by diffusion due to concentration or vapor pressure differences.

Diffusion

The net movement of a substance from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration.

Distillation

The unit operation of purifying a liquid by successive evaporation and condensation.

Fluid Flow

The unit operation of transporting liquid food through pipes during processing, typically using centrifugal or positive displacement pumps.

Mixing

The unit operation designed to evenly distribute each ingredient during manufacturing to achieve chemical and physical uniformity.

Size Adjustment

The unit operation in which food size is either reduced (slicing, dicing, cutting, grinding) or increased (aggregation, agglomeration, gelation).

Separation

The unit operation involving isolating components, such as solid from solid (peeling, shelling), solid from liquid (filtration, extraction), or liquid from liquid (evaporation, distillation).

Hazard

Any object, situation, or behavior that has the potential to cause injury, ill health, or damage to property or the environment.

Pathogenic Microorganisms

Microorganisms that can cause disease in humans, presenting public health risks.

Spoilage Microorganisms

Microorganisms that cause food deterioration, leading to negative effects on quality and sensory properties.

Chemical Hazards

Harmful chemical contaminants in food, such as pesticides, food additives, mycotoxins, allergens, and cleaning agent residues.

Carbohydrates

Organic molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen with the empirical formula $(CH_2O)_n$, produced via photosynthesis and supplying $4\,kcal$ of energy per gram.

Monosaccharides

Simple sugars consisting of $1$ structural unit that cannot be broken down further by hydrolysis.

Glucose

A key monosaccharide produced via photosynthesis that acts as the primary cellular energy source.

Fructose

A highly water-soluble, very sweet, odorless crystalline monosaccharide found in plants either free or as part of sucrose.

Oligosaccharides

Water-soluble carbohydrates containing $2$ to $10$ monosaccharide units, primarily existing as disaccharides in foods.

Sucrose

A sweet disaccharide (table sugar) composed of glucose and fructose that serves as an energy source, preservative, and texture modifier.

Lactose

A disaccharide found in milk composed of glucose and galactose units.

Maltose

A disaccharide composed of two glucose units, found in barley malt and used in brewing.

Polysaccharides

Long-chain carbohydrates composed of more than $10$ monosaccharide units linked by glycosidic bonds, which affect texture, viscosity, and mouthfeel.

Starch

The primary dietary polysaccharide made of repeating glucose units, consisting of linear amylose and branched amylopectin polymers.

Starch Gelatinization

The process where starch granules heated above $55\text{--}70\,^\circ\text{C}$ absorb water, swell, rupture, and release amylose to form a paste that turns into a gel upon cooling.

Retrogradation

The recrystallization process during starch gel aging where amylose forms crystalline aggregates, causing gel shrinkage and syneresis.

Cellulose

The most abundant structural plant polysaccharide and a major component of dietary fiber that resists human salivary amylases.

Pectin

A soluble dietary fiber found in fruit peels that gels in the presence of calcium ions or low pH, used as a gelling agent in jams.

Gums

Polysaccharides with high water affinity (e.g., xanthan gum, guar gum, gum arabic) that form viscous non-gelling solutions used for thickening and stabilizing.

Proteins

Polymers of amino acids linked by peptide bonds containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, supplying $4\,kcal$ of energy per gram.

Essential Amino Acids

Amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the human body in sufficient amounts and must be supplied through the diet.

Non-essential Amino Acids

Amino acids that can be synthesized internally by the human body.

Amino Acid General Structure

A organic molecular backbone consisting of a central carbon bonded to an amino group ($-NH_2$), a carboxyl group ($-COOH$), a hydrogen atom, and a variable side chain ($R$ group).

Primary Protein Structure

The unique linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain.

Secondary Protein Structure

Local folding of the polypeptide backbone into structures such as $\alpha$-helices and $\beta$-sheets maintained by hydrogen bonds.

Tertiary Protein Structure

The overall three-dimensional folding pattern of a single protein chain resulting from side chain interactions.

Quaternary Protein Structure

The arrangement and interaction of multiple polypeptide subunits in a multi-subunit protein complex.

Protein Denaturation

The alteration of a protein's native three-dimensional structure by physical or chemical agents without breaking peptide bonds.

Lipids

Non-polar organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that are insoluble in water, providing $9\,kcal$ of energy per gram and transporting fat-soluble vitamins.

Saturated Fatty Acids

Fatty acids containing only single carbon-carbon bonds and holding the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Fatty acids that contain one or more carbon-carbon double bonds, resulting in fewer hydrogen atoms.

Trlycerides

The main storage form of fat in the body, consisting of three fatty acids esterified to a glycerol backbone.

Phospholipids

Amphipathic lipids containing a hydrophilic phosphate head and hydrophobic fatty acid tails, serving as cell membrane components and food emulsifiers.

Sterols

A class of lipids including cholesterol that are vital for cell membrane structural integrity and hormone precursor synthesis.

Water-soluble Vitamins

Vitamins (B complex and C) that are easily absorbed and excreted by the body, found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy.

Fat-soluble Vitamins

Vitamins (A, D, E, and K) that require lipids for intestinal absorption, found in animal fats, oils, oily fish, and liver.

Macro-minerals

Inorganic elements required by the body in large quantities, including calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and chloride.

Micro-minerals

Inorganic trace elements required by the body in small quantities, including iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and iodine.

Free Water

Unbound water in food that is easily removed by drying and acts as a solvent and reaction medium for microbes and chemical processes.

Adsorbed Water

Water physically attached to food macromolecules like proteins and polysaccharides, making it difficult to remove.

Bound Water

Water tightly bound within the food matrix that is unavailable for microbial growth or chemical reactions, cannot act as a solvent, and remains unfrozen below $0\,^\circ\text{C}$.

Caramelization

A non-enzymatic browning process caused by the thermal decomposition (pyrolysis) of sugars heated above $100\,^\circ\text{C}$.

Maillard Browning

A non-enzymatic browning reaction between an amino group of an amino acid or protein and a reducing sugar during heating or storage.

Melanoidins

Brown-colored polymeric pigments produced in the final stage of the Maillard reaction that contribute to color and aroma in cooked foods.

Enzymatic Browning

A browning reaction in cut or damaged plant tissues and seafood where polyphenol oxidase (PPO) oxidizes phenolic compounds into dark pigments.

Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO)

An enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of phenolic compounds in fruits, vegetables, and seafood into brown pigments.

Blanching

A thermal preprocessing treatment given to raw vegetables to inactivate enzymes and prevent unwanted enzymatic browning and quality loss.

Lipid Oxidation

A chemical degradation reaction between oxygen and unsaturated lipids producing short-chain volatile compounds (aldehydes, ketones, fatty acids) that cause off-flavors and off-odors.

Rancidity

The development of unpalatable smells and tastes in fats and oils due to chemical breakdown.

Oxidative Rancidity

Fat deterioration driven by a free-radical mechanism where oxygen reacts across double bonds of unsaturated fatty acid chains.

Hydrolytic Rancidity

Fat deterioration caused by the cleavage of triglycerides into free fatty acids and glycerol, accelerated by lipase enzymes.

Antioxidants

Substances (e.g., BHA, BHT, tocopherols) that inhibit lipid oxidation by donating hydrogen atoms to free radicals.

Chelating Agents

Compounds (e.g., EDTA, citric acid, malic acid) that bind metal ions to prevent them from catalyzing lipid oxidation reactions.