Introduction to Food Chemistry

The complexity of food chemistry makes it a challenging subject for students studying in a food science course. Although there are excellent food chemistry books available in the market they have two major flaws: they are either encyclopedic or they are not pitched correctly to undergraduate food science students. The first problem creates difficulties for students to identify what is important and how much they need to know. The second problem arises when the book is written by authors that are not food scientists (e.g., chemists), they are not academics that are engaged with teaching or they are not sufficiently qualified to teach. In this case, it is difficult to find links between the chemistry of foods and its relevance to applications or, quite frequently, future employment prospects of the student.