Food-Related Applications

The feature of lAMS to generate intact molecule ionic species is of benefit in aity MS applications, especially involving VOCs, where conventional EI-MS results in extensive fragmentation and often loss of the intact molecule information. In food analysis, this certainly applies to the analysis of flavors, fragrances, and aroma compounds. GC-IAMS can be a powerful tool in that respect. Several examples have been discussed in Chap. 8, involving proton-transfer MS (PTR-MS) and selected-ion flow tube MS (SlFT-MS). 

Most widely applied in the study of food-related compounds, is the LC- or Na+-cationization in the lAMS analysis of lipids and related substances, which is discussed in considerable detail in Sect. 7.5.4. It seems that in this area LC- or Na -cationization is especially important in detailed characterization of lipids, e g., with respect to determination of double-bond positions in fatty acids, and given the fact that often complementary stractiual information is obtained compared to the information obtained from the fragmentation of protonated or deprotonated molecules. This is clearly demonstrated for phospholipids [16], 

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Uses. Currentiy, the principal use of lactic acid is in food and food-related applications, which in the United States accounts for approximately 85% of the demand. The rest ( 15%) of the uses are for nonfood industrial applications. The expected advent of the production of low cost lactic acid in high volume can open new applications for lactic acid and its derivatives, because it is a versatile molecule that can be converted to a wide range of industrial chemicals or polymer feedstocks (1,6,20). 

Uses. Currently, the principal use of lactic acid is in food and food-related applications, which in the United States accounts for approximately 85% of the demand. The rest ( -15% ) of the uses arc for nonfood industrial applications. 

Lactic acid, initially produced in 1880, was the first organic acid made industrially by fermentation of a carbohydrate. Nowadays it is made both by fermentation and by chemical synthesis. About 85% of the use of lactic acid is in food and food-related applications, with some use in the making of emulsifying agents and poly(lactic acid). 

The modern food supply chain uses many forms of thermoformed articles meat trays, microwave and deep freeze containers, ice cream and margarine tubs, delicatessen tubs, snack tubs, bakery and patisserie packaging, sandwich packs and vending drink cups are just a few of the food related applications. Other non-food applications include manufacturing collation trays, blister packaging and point of sale display trays. 

This is by far the most promising food-related application of MD. The advantages of MD over traditional methods, such as RO and multiple stage evaporation lie in the quantitative solute rejection achieved and the comparatively low-energy inputs required for MD when feed water has a high salt concentration, as in seawater. 

In food-related applications, flavor compounds are being encapsulated into CDs for better retention and protection from various possible means of deterioration as well as for controlled delivery (Szente and Szejtli, 1986,2004 Hedges et al., 1995 Hedges and McBride, 1999). 

Another potentially important development in the free-radical polymerization area is the nitrile barrier resins. These products generally are graft polymers containing a glassy phase comprised of 80% acrylonitrile and 20% styrene or other vinyl monomer grafted onto a rubber substrate. The commercialization of these materials has been interrupted by an adverse ruling by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in connection with extraction of traces of acrylonitrile in food-related applications. The amounts involved are very small. A new attitude under development in the FDA may lead to the eventual clearance of these materials. 

The coruiection between supercritical fluids and clean separations is, however, more recent. It appears during the 1970s, when it was shown that supercritical carbon dioxide could become an important extraction solvent for food-related applications. Since then, the field has expanded enormously. A wide range of fundamental studies have been pubhshed and many patents submitted, with potential applications in separation processes, chemistry, and materials science. Many books and reviews have been pubhshed on different aspects of supercritical fluids. 

Ease of access to the interior surface of stirred tanks is an additional advantage of this type of reactor. This consideration is particularly significant in polymerization reactors, where one needs to worry about periodic cleaning of internal surfaces. Sanitation considerations are particularly relevant in the design of reactors for pharmaceutical and food-related applications (e.g., brewing and fermentation facihties). 

In spite of these limitations, the development of microcapsules by complex coacervation remains a viable area of study today from both a fundamental understanding and a commercial application point of view. Polymers derived from plant or milk that are adaptable to the complex coacervation encapsulation protocols have been used to replace gelatin isolated from animals. Interest in capsules produced by complex coacervation for food-related applications remains high because a variety of GRAS polymers can be used to produce commercially viable capsules accepted by the food industry. New technically and commercially viable polymers are being developed to meet the increasing demand from various applications and to fulfill the regulatory requirements. 

Enormous advances in the scope and sensitivity of mass spectrometric techniques have occurred in the last decade. The use of modern techniques of organic MS, particularly APCI and ESI LC-MS, CE/MS, and MS/MS, has grown apace in the food and nutritional sciences. Applications of MALDI-TOF in the food sciences are also increasing, although at a lower rate (the frequent need for chromatographic separation in food-related applications has led to an understandable bias toward LC-MS methods). 

Incorporation of antimicrobials into polymers has been commercially applied in drug and pesticide delivery, surgical implants and other biomedical devices. Few food-related applications have been commercialised, but the number of articles and patents indicate that research on this subject has more than doubled in the last five years. 

The purity of the Isopar solvents makes them suitable for many direct and indirect food related applications. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations governing the use of the Isopar solvents can be obtained from the Exxon Chemical Company. 

Most commercial HCl is used for theproduetion of vinyl chloride and chlorinated solvents, for the manufacture of a large variety of inorganic chemicals, especially ammonium chloride (NH4CI), metal salts and bleaches, and for the pickling of metals to remove oxide scale. Food-related applications include the hydrolysis of starch to glucose and the manufacture of gelatine. 

Within food-related applications, these biobased materials are particularly useful in three main areas food packaging, food coating and edible films for food and encapsulation. 

Applications While few applications are available in the scientific literature for the AromaScan and Neotronics instruments, numerous applications of the Alpha M.O.S. system occur in the literature. The breadth of the applications is impressive. The Wall Street Journal (27) reported that the electronic nose was being evaluated for possible applications including new car smell (General Motors), deodorants (Unilever), perfume creation (possible patent implications), wines (Wine Magazine), breath (indication of diabetes), infection of woimds (South Manchester University Hospital), sewage treatment plants, fish freshness (FDA) and numerous others. A few of the food related applications follow (Figures 2-6). Most of these applications are self explanatory so little will be said about them. 

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