Molecular Approaches to Improving Food Quality and Safety

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Crop Plants: Design, Construction, and Expression of an Artificial Plant Storage Protein Gene

   • JaeHo Kim, Selim Cetiner, Jesse M. Jaynes

   Pages 1-36

3. Deamidation and Phosphorylation to Improve Protein Functionality in Foods

   • Frederick F. Shih, Jamel S. Hamada, Wayne E. Marshall

   Pages 37-59

4. Natural Enzyme and Biocontrol Methods for Improving Fruits and Fruit Quality

   • Elizabeth A. Baldwin, Robert A. Baker

   Pages 61-82

5. Safety Evaluation of Food Enzymes from Genetically Engineered Organisms

   • Nancy W. Zeman, W. Martin Teague

   Pages 83-98

6. Toward the Genetic Engineering of Disease Resistance in Plants: The Transfer of Pea Genes to Potatoes

   • Lee A. Hadwiger

   Pages 99-111

7. Automated System for Microbial Screening/Breeding

   • Toru Okuda, Hiroyoshi Tabuchi

   Pages 113-150

8. DNA Probes for the Identification of Pathogenic Foodborne Bacteria and Viruses

   • Keith A. Lampel, Peter Feng, Walter E. Hill

   Pages 151-188

9. Rapid Methods for the Detection of Listeria

   • Jerrie Gavalchin, Katrina Landy, Carl A. Batt

   Pages 189-204

10. Molecular Strategies for Reducing Aflatoxin Levels in Crops before Harvest

    • Thomas E. Cleveland, Deepak Bhatnagar

    Pages 205-228

11. Molecular Strategies for Improving the Quality of Muscle Food Products

    • Arthur M. Spanier, Peter B. Johnsen

    Pages 229-241

12. Back Matter

    Pages 242-246

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Conventional food safety and quality research have traditionally dealt with the whole organism or food product, either plant or animal, or with the microorganisms that associate with these food-producing plants and ani­ mals at various stages of growth, development, and maturation. However, conventional research methods no longer are sufficient to bring about the improvements in quality and safety of foods that are demanded in today's marketplace by increasingly educated and sophisticated consumers. Improved quality has generally been thought to mean (l) unblemished products, particularly fruits and vegetables, and (2) the desired functional­ ity of protein, carbohydrates, and fats in grain oilseeds and the like to achieve the intended purpose in processing foods; for example, dough char­ acteristics to make bread or pasta. However, it also means the year-round ready availability of nutritious and appealing choices in all food groups that can be quickly and easily prepared. This promotes optimum nutrition, particularly necessary in children, the elderly, and special-needs groups, and it allows health conscious consumers to match their calorie intake with indi­ vidual needs to achieve and maintain desirable body weight.

• children
• fats
• food
• food quality
• food safety
• health
• microorganism
• nutrition
• plants
• processing

• Agricultural Research Service/Southern Regional Research Center, USDA, New Orleans, USA

  Deepak Bhatnagar, Thomas E. Cleveland

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