School of Applied Sciences

Applied Chemistry

CHEM1083, 1226

Food Chemistry
Lecture notes
Part 1

2006
Semester 2

Dr Darryl Small
Senior Lecturer in Food Chemistry
Telephone (direct)

03 9925 2124

Facsimile

03 9925 3747

Email address

Darryl.Small@rmit.edu.au

Postal address

Applied Chemistry
School of Applied Sciences
City Campus
RMIT University
GPO Box 2476V
Melbourne
VICTORIA 8001

Location

Room number 3.2.17

Dept of Applied Chemistry
Building 3
City Campus
RMIT University
Melbourne

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on 21 July 2006
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Introduction to Food Chemistry

Some of the questions which we will touch on during this
semester include
Which food molecules were used to murder the coconspirator, Remy, in the 2004 best selling novel The Da
Vinci Code by Dan Brown (page 540)?
Why should we avoid eating green potatoes?
Why is there a controversy raging across the Atlantic
about the addition of folic acid (a B group vitamin) to
foods?
Is our food supply becoming less safe?
Why is vitamin C added to all breads but not listed on the
labels?
The first question
Although it seems obvious enough, one of the first
questions to ask is:
What is a food?
For our purposes let us decide to include the obvious
foods we eat and enjoy as well as beverages, along with
the ingredients used in their manufacture.
One of the objectives of this course is to encourage you
to look at food molecules from a range of different
perspectives.
So, for example, particular food molecules may be:

Nutritionally significant;

Anti-nutritional;

Promoting health and well-being;

Protective against illness or diseases;

Bulking agents;

Functionally significant;

Having undesirable impact on the body;

Present in traces or as a large proportion of the

food;

Readily measurable or difficult to analyse.

Food molecules may be considered from many

perspectives:

Consumer;

Nutritional;

Allergenicity;

History;

Legal/regulatory;

Commercial opportunities;

Food manufacturer/processor;

Toxicological;

Health promotion;

Research;

Analytical

What are some of the categories of molecules in a

typical food?
There are at least ten categories that we will mention
during this semester.

Nutrients

Antinutritional factors

Undigestible materials

Additives

Processing aids

Undesirable molecules

Allergens and sensitizing agents

Functional molecules

Physiologically active agents

Nutrients
These are molecules which our bodies use in some way
for metabolism, growth and generally sustaining
ourselves. We know quite a lot about these, their roles
and how much we need. Nutrients can be divided into
Macronutrients (water, fat, carbohydrates and protein)
and micronutrients (minerals and vitamins).

Antinutrients
A variety of molecules occurring naturally in agricultural
raw materials have some form of antinutritional activity.
These may either:

Prevent the digestion of nutrients in our food.

Widely occurring examples are the trypsin
inhibitors;
Breakdown a required nutrient to products which
are no longer active. Example: the enzyme
thiaminase found in the Nardoo fern and able to
effectively destroy dietary thiamin;
Bind to a nutrient so that it cannot be absorbed
through the digestive tract lining into the blood
stream. A well documented example is the phytate
molecule found in many grains. This chelates Ca2+
and Mg2+ ions.

OH

HO

OH

P
O

OH

P
HO

OH

O
O

OH
P

O OH

OH
P

OH

OH
OH

phytic acid
(Full chemical name is myo inositol hexa (kis)
phosphate)
Suitable strategies are available to inactivate or avoid the
effects of most of the antinutritional factors known.
Undigestible materials
This an interesting and current issue for a number of
reasons. We think of dietary fibre as useless bulk which
we do not digest. This used to be thought of as a useless
food component that just passed straight through the
body and was eliminated. Many potential health and
protective benefits of these materials have now been
identified. In addition they play a vital role in nourishing
the bacteria in our lower digestive tract.

Consider food additives

This term is often used as a way of referring to anything
bad in food.
Examples: this food is full of additives.
These additives are artificial.
There is a lot of confusion about the term Food Additive
so we need to discuss this carefully and recognize that it is
a source of both confusion and, for many consumers fear.
Definitions of food additives
Include all materials deliberately added to food to help
manufacture and preserve food, improve palatability and
eye-appeal; for example, emulsifiers, flavours, thickeners,
curing agents, humectants, colours, vitamins, minerals,
and mould, yeast and bacterial inhibitors. Most of these
are controlled by law in all countries.
(Bender 1975 Dictionary of nutrition and food
technology)
Any substance added directly or indirectly that becomes
part of a food product. Substances added with no planned
function may be acquired in processing, packaging, or
storage. More than three thousand chemicals are used as
food additives in more than thirty categories such as
leavening agents or nutritive sweeteners. The safety of
any such additives is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
(Anderson and Anderson 1993
International dictionary of food and nutrition)
Some of the key words are: Specific function Unintentional Regulations and legal requirements
Consumer safety
Different textbooks, different countries may define or see
additives in quite different ways.
There is no international standard that is universally
adopted around the world.
The Australian view of additives
Firstly note that this has changed significantly in the past
three years. It will probably evolve further in the future as
our understanding of food molecules develops.
A practical approach is to look at the way Australian
regulations approach additives in foods.

Where do I find Australian food regulations?

The legal requirements on food are developed by a
national authority called Food Standards Australia New
Zealand (FSANZ). They are responsible for the primary
regulatory document The Australian New Zealand Food
Standards Code (ANZFSC)
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au
What does ANZFSC say about food additives?
A food additive is any substance not normally consumed
as a food in itself and not normally used as an ingredient
of food, but which is intentionally added to a food to
achieve one or more of the technological functions
specified in Schedule 5. It or its by-products may remain
in the food. Food additives are distinguishable from
processing aids (see Standard 1.3.3) and vitamins and
minerals added to food for nutritional purposes (see
Standard 1.3.2).
Food Additives, Standard 1.3.1, ANZFSC
The main rule about additives:
A food additive may only be added to food where
expressly permitted in this standard.

Schedule 5 to Standard 1.3.1.Food Additives, ANZFSC

Technological functions which may be performed by food additives
Functional class

Definition

sub-classes
Acidity regulator
acid, alkali, base, buffer, buffering agent, pH
adjusting agent
Anti-caking agent
anti-caking agent, anti-stick agent, drying agent,
dusting powder
Antioxidant
antioxidant, antioxidant synergist
Bulking agent
bulking agent, filler
Colouring
Colour fixative
colour fixative, colour stabiliser
Emulsifier
emulsifier, emulsifying salt, plasticiser, dispersing
agent, surface active agent, surfactant, wetting
agent
Firming agent
Flavour enhancer
flavour enhancer, flavour modifier, tenderiser
Flavouring
(excluding herbs and spices and intense sweeteners)

Foaming agent
Whipping agent, aerating agent
Gelling agent
Glazing agent
coating, sealing agent, polish
Humectant
moisture/water retention agent,
wetting agent
Intense sweetener
Preservative
anti-microbial preservative, anti-mycotic agent,
bacteriophage control agent, chemosterilant,
disinfection agent
Propellant
Raising agent
Sequestrant
Stabiliser
binder, firming agent, water binding agent, foam
stabiliser
Thickener
thickening agent, texturiser, bodying agent

alters or controls the acidity or alkalinity of a food

reduces the tendency of individual food particles to
adhere or improves flow characteristics
retards or prevents the oxidative deterioration of a
food
contributes to the volume of a food without
contributing significantly to its available energy
adds or restores colour to foods
stabilises, retains or intensifies an existing colour of a
food
facilitates the formation or maintenance of an
emulsion between two or more immiscible phases
contributes to firmness of food or interact with gelling
agents to produce or strengthen a gel
enhances the existing taste and/or odour of a food
intense preparations which are added to foods to
impart taste and/or odour, which are used in small
amounts and are not intended to be consumed
alone, but do not include herbs, spices and
substances which have an exclusively sweet, sour or
salt taste.
facilitates the formation of a homogeneous dispersion
of a gaseous phase in a liquid or solid food
modifies food texture through gel formation
imparts a coating to the external surface of a food
retards moisture loss from food or promotes the
dissolution of a solid in an aqueous medium
replaces the sweetness normally provided by sugars in
foods without contributing significantly to their
available energy
retards or prevents the deterioration of a food by
micro organisms
gas, other than air, which expels a food from a
container
liberates gas and thereby increase the volume of a
food
forms chemical complexes with metallic ions
maintains the homogeneous dispersion of two or
more immiscible substances in a food
increases the viscosity of a food

Processing aids in foods

Processing aid
(a) the substance is used in the processing of raw materials,
foods or ingredients, to fulfil a technological purpose
relating to treatment or processing, but does not
perform a technological function in the final food; and
(b) the substance is used in the course of manufacture of a
food at the lowest level necessary to achieve a function
in the processing of that food, irrespective of any
maximum permitted level specified.
Processing Aids Standard 1.3.3 (ANZFSC)
The main rule here is:
Unless expressly permitted in this Standard, processing aids
must not be added to food.
The main categories recognized in Australia are:
antifoam agents; catalysts; decolourants; clarifying, filtration
and adsorbent agent; desiccating preparations; ion exchange
resins; lubricants, release and anti-stick agents; carriers,
solvents and diluents; bleaching agents, washing and peeling
agents; extraction solvents; enzymes; microbial nutrients and
microbial nutrient adjuncts.

Consider ascorbic acid

The structure of this molecule is relatively simple and is
closely related to glucose and other monomeric
carbohydrates.
OH
HO

OH

OH

ascorbic acid
In which of the ten original categories of molecules does this
one belong?
Nutrients
Antinutritional factors
Undigestible materials
Additives
Processing aids
Undesirable molecules
Allergens and sensitizing agents
Functional molecules
Physiologically active agents

Factsheet: Sudan red food dyes in Australia

Downloaded from
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/mediareleasespublications/factsheets/factsheets20
05/sudanredfooddyesinau2843.cfm
21 February 2005
The United Kingdom Food Standards Agency (UKFSA) has recently advised consumers not to eat a
wide range of foods that have been inadvertently contaminated with an illegal dye, Sudan I. This dye
was in a batch of chilli powder used to manufacture a Worcester sauce, which was then used as an
ingredient in a wide range of UK products.
Most of these UK products are fresh or chilled so it appears unlikely that any of the affected batches are
present in Australia. However, this is being further investigated through industry and the states and
territories.
Sudan red food dyes, including Sudan I, are not approved for use in Australia.
There is questionable evidence that Sudan I dye may be associated with cancer formation in laboratory
animals, but there is no evidence that they can cause harm in humans, particular at the low levels found
in these foods.
Based on the currently available data, the potential risk to human health from low levels of Sudan I is
extremely low.
A national survey coordinated by Food Standards Australia New Zealand, and carried out by the states
and territories in March 2004, tested chilli and paprika powders and found that there were no detections
of Sudan dyes in the products tested . For the full report seeSummer Autumn 2004 edition of Food
Surveillance ANZ.
FSANZ is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide further updates, when available.

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