The Instrumental Role of Food PackagingThe Importance of Packaging Design for the Chemistry of Food Products

Packaging are physical ‘media’ which aim to satisfy three main requirements: to contain, preserve and transport human products. Functionality is the real essence of the synergetic food/packaging system. However, there is not functionality without communication. The concept of food packaging concerns a dualistic system: on the one side, every food packaging is expected to preserve packaged foods against thermal leaps, environmental moisture, mechanical damages (functional requirements). The viewpoint of research chemists is important: all above mentioned factors depend also on chemical processes, analytical methods, food examinations and reports when speaking of human health, food safety, logistic matters and environmental sustainability of recycling processes. On the other hand, packaging design enhances the communication. Consequently, the complex relationship between communication (according to a design approach) and functional requirements has to be carefully studied in the pre-production step

Prices of Unhealthy Foods, Food Stamp Program Participation, and Body Weight Status Among U.S. Low-Income Women

Body mass index, Food prices, Food stamp program, Obesity, Socioeconomic status,

Influence of chemical composition of olive oil on the development of volatile compounds during frying

In this study, 15 virgin olive oils from an industrial oil plant in the Abruzzo region were analyzed in terms of the volatile compounds responsible for the characteristic odor and olfactory perception of virgin olive oils and its modification upon frying (up to 60 min of heat treatment). Dynamic headspace–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis was used to evaluate the volatile profile before and after each frying step and examine correlations with qualitative characteristic of oil (fatty acid composition, total phenolic compound content, tocopherols and pigments). The chemometric approach (genetic algorithms–partial least squares/multiple linear regression) developed for this study is a novel model for data treatment to select important variables in olive oil composition and understand their influence on spoilage during frying. An inverse correlation between oleic acid content and formation of toxic volatiles such as acrolein and crotonal during frying was demonstrated. Moreover, it was also observed that pigments such as chlorophylls, pheophytins, and carotenoids may prevent the formation of some aldehydes during frying