Definitions of words used in Food Processing: A-F

Definitions of words used in Food Processing: A-F

Extensive glossary of food manufacturing, science and technology.

• °Brix: Measure of the density of a solution, expressed in degrees Brix. The °Brix of a solution = the % Sucrose of the solution at room temperature.
• Absorption: Retention of oil or fat by a food product which has been fried. A certain amount of fat is desirable to provide flavour, eating quality, etc. to the food. However, excessive absorption imparts an unpleasant greasiness, masks natural food flavour and is costly.
• Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI): Quantity of a food additive that can be ingested daily, over a lifetime, without any risk (expressed in milligrams additive per kilogram body weight).
• Acesulfame K: Acesulfame K, or acesulfame potassium, is a low-calorie sweetener. It is an organic salt consisting of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, sulphur and potassium atoms. It is 200 times sweeter than sucrose, has a synergistic sweetening effect with other sweeteners, has a stable shelf-life and is heat stable. It is excreted through the human digestive system unchanged, and is therefore non-caloric.
• Acid: Substance with a pH of less than 7.0.
• Acidified food: Product with a natural pH of 4.6 or below.
• Acidity regulators: Used to alter and control the acidity or alkalinity levels for different desired effects, which can include preservation, added/altered tartness, colour retention and to assist raising agents.
• Activation energy constant, E: Temperature coefficient determined from the slope of a ln (k) versus 1/TA plot.
• Activation volume constant, V: Pressure coefficient obtained from the slope of the ln (k) versus a pressure difference (P-PR) plot.
• Active packaging: Contains active component allowing a controlled interaction between the food, package and internal gaseous environment, thus extends shelf life, improves fruit and vegetable safety or provides superior sensory quality.
• Additives: Natural and man-made substances added to a food for an intended purpose (such as preservatives and colours) or unintentionally (such as pesticides and lubricants).
• Adiabatic compression: Compression or decompression processes occurring without heat transfer.
• Adulteration: Deliberate contamination of foods with materials of low quality.
• Aerobe: Organism, especially a Gram E bacterium, that requires oxygen to live.
• Aerobic plate count: Method for determining the presence and concentration of aerobic bacteria in food products.
• Aerobic: Requires oxygen.
• Aflatoxins: Dangerous poisons produced by moulds of the Aspergillus species, found in cereals, oilseeds and nuts when incorrectly dried and stored. Aftertaste: Taste and sensations that linger after food or drink has been swallowed.
• Airlock (fermentation lock): Device that attaches to the top of a fermentation barrel or carboy that allows C02 to escape out of an airtight connection but prevents bacteria from entering.
• Alcohol: Family name of a group of organic chemical compounds that includes methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and others. Ethanol is produced from crops or residues with a high carbohydrate content. Alcoholic beverages contain ethanol.
• Algin: Compound which is extracted from algae and used in puddings, milk shakes and ice cream to make these foods creamier and thicker and to extend shelf life.
• Alkaline: Substance that has a pH of more than 7.0.
• Aliquot: a measured sub-volume of sample.
• Allergen: Part of a food (a protein) that stimulates the immune system of food allergic individuals. A single food can contain multiple food allergens. Carbohydrates or fats are not allergens. Most common food allergens are nuts (especially peanuts), egg, milk, histamine, etc.
• Ally methyl trisulfide, dithiolthiones: Type of sulfide/thiol found in cruciferous vegetables which may provide the health benefits of lowering LDL cholesterol and of maintaining a healthy immune system.
• Alpha-carotene: Type of carotenoid found in carrots which provides the health benefit of neutralizing free radicals that may cause damage to cells.
• Alpha-tocopherol: Chemical name for the vitamin E form with the highest biological activity. Several other tocopherols and tocotrienols also have vitamin E activity.
• Ambient temperature: Temperature of the immediately surrounding environment. Ambient room temperature ranges from 19-23°C (68 to 77°F).
• Amino acids: Small, nitrogen-containing molecules that are linked together to form proteins. These building blocks of which proteins are made, are themselves relatively small molecules (normally less than 10 carbon atoms) which are characterized by the possession of an amino group (- NH2) and a carboxylic acid group (-COOH) attached to the same carbon atom. They are soluble in water.
• Anaerobe: Organism, especially a bacterium, that does not require oxygen or free oxygen to live.
• Anaerobic: Does not require oxygen.
• Animal fat or oil: Any naturally occurring or refined and processed fat from any animal. Animal fats may be edible or inedible depending upon source or type of processing. Examples of animal fats and oils includes refined, hydrogenated lard and edible tallow from cattle.
• Antemortem: Before slaughter. As used in the meat and poultry inspection program, the term refers to the examination that meat inspectors are required to conduct of all live animals just before they are killed.
• Anthocyanidins: Type of flavonoid found in various fruits which provides the health benefits of neutralizing free radicals and possibly reducing the risk of cancer.
• Antibiotic: Substance produced by bacteria or fungi that destroys or prevents the growth of other bacteria and fungi. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses.
• Antibody: Protein produced by the immune system of humans and higher animals in response to the presence of a specific antigen.
• Anticaking agent: Used to ensure the free flow in products such as dried milks, icing sugar and table salt.
• Antifoaming agent: Important to prevent foam and bubbles during the cooking and concentrating process.
• Antigen: Foreign substance (almost always a protein) that, when introduced into the body, stimulates an immune response.
• Antioxidant: Chemical approved for the control of oxidation (rancidity) in food products. Approved antioxidants include: BHT, BHA, propyl-gallate. Regulations limit concentration to 0.003% for individual chemicals, 0.006% for combinations.
• Apple pomace: Remains after pressing apples for juice extraction; raw material for the production of apple pectin.
• Aroma: Odour detected.
• Artificial sweeteners: Designed by man, and usually prepared by a chemical process. They are designed to supply sweetness on its own, i.e., without the carbohydrate food values which are associated with sugar. They are used by consumers who may believe it disadvantageous to use sugars for sweetening foods and drinks.
• Ascorbic acid (or ascorbate): Chemical name for vitamin C. Lemon juice contains large quantities of ascorbic acid and is commonly used to prevent browning of peeled, light-coloured fruits and vegetables. Green peppers, broccoli, citrus fruits, tomatoes, strawberries, and other fresh fruits and vegetables are good sources of vitamin C.
• Aseptic packaging: System wherein the food product and the container are sterilised separately, and the containers are filled and sealed in a sterile environment.
• Aseptic: Without contamination by micro-organisms, i.e. sterile.
• Aspartame: Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener used in a variety of foods and beverages and as a tabletop sweetener. It is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. Aspartame is made by joining two protein components, aspartic acid and phenylalanine.
• Assembly-serve foodservice system: Foodservice system in which food is purchased at the middle to complete end of the food processing continuum, stored either frozen or chilled, portioned, and heated before serving to customers.
• Audit: Systematic and functionally independent examination to determine whether activities and related results comply with planned objectives.
• Automated: System where machines handle and control the processing from raw materials to the finished product.
• Average weight: Known proportion of containers have a fill-weight above system that shown on the label.
• Bacteria: Large group of single-celled micro-organisms which can be both harmful and helpful to food.
• Bacteriocin: Small, naturally occurring protein produced by one species of bacterium that effectively protects it from competing organisms. Different bacteria produce different bacteriocins.
• Bacteriophage: Bacterial virus; a virus capable of infecting bacteria.
• Baking chocolate: Cooled, hardened chocolate liquor. It is used primarily as an ingredient in recipes, or as a garnish.
• Balance: The relation of malt to hops in a beer. Ideally they are balanced.
• Balling hydrometer scale: A hydrometer scale calibrated so that readings at a specified temperature (usually 20°C) equal the percentage by weight of sugar in the solution. It is numerically equivalent to the Brix scale, but is chiefly used by brewers, whereas the Brix scale is used by sugar refineries and vintners. Devised by C J N Balling.
• Base: Substance with a pH above 7.0. Substances with a base pH include soap (pH 10.0) and ammonia (pH 11.2).
• Base kitchen: Kitchen in which foods are prepared, served at that location, and transported to other locations or satellites for service. Also known as a regional kitchen.
• Batch treatment: Treatment of a static mass of food in bulk or packaged.
• Beta-carotene: Orange-coloured plant pigment that can be converted into vitamin A in the human body. Beta-carotene is found in deep-yellow and leafy dark-green vegetables.
• Beta-glucan: Soluble fiber in oats which provides the health benefit of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease by decreasing circulating blood cholesterol.
• Bi-metallic thermometer: Food thermometer used to measure product temperatures. Uses a spring mechanism to determine temperature.
• Biological hazard: Danger posed to food safety by the contamination of food with pathogenic microorganisms or naturally occurring toxins.
• Biological indicator system: System (bacteria or enzyme) used to determine whether a process cycle has met the specified requirements.
• Biotechnology: Use of living organisms or parts of living organisms, to create new products.
• Biotin: One of the B vitamins.
• Bitter Chocolate: Chocolate liquid which has been cooled and shaped into blocks. Best when used in baking or cooking.
• Bitter: Flavour characteristic of food or beverages.
• Bittering hops: Varieties of hops that are used to infuse a bitter taste in beer.
• Bitterns: The highly saline liquor which remains after most of the salt has crystallised from brine.
• Bittersweet chocolate: Dark chocolate that contains a minimum of 35% chocolate liquor. Bittersweet and semi-sweet both fall under this definition; however, bittersweet is often the term used for chocolate with a minimum of 50% chocolate liquor.
• Blancher: Lidded pot designed with a fitted perforated basket to hold food in boiling water, or with a fitted rack to steam foods. Useful for loosening skins on fruits to be peeled, or for heating foods to be hot packed.
• Blanching: Process of immersing in hot water or heating in steam at 95°C for 1-5 minutes to reduce enzyme activity.
• Blast chiller: Refrigeration unit that chills foods from 60° to 3°C in 90-120 minutes or less.
• Bleaching: Treatment to reduce natural pigments (carotenoids, chlorophylls and xanthophylls) and other impurities such as cations of iron, copper and zinc.
• Bleaching agents: Used to artificially whiten flour.
• Bloom: Cocoa butter, the fat component of chocolate, is polymorphic; meaning it can solidify into different crystalline forms at different temperatures. It is also monotropic, which means that over time, all crystals will transform to the higher melting point crystals, or b crystals. Chocolate therefore needs to be tempered to gain an adequate proportion of stable b crystals in the liquid chocolate before it is used in coating or moulding. If the chocolate is not tempered, cooled and stored correctly, b' (beta prime) crystals may form, later transforming to large b crystals, appearing on the surface of the chocolate as a white hazy substance, or bloom.
• Body: Richness and the amount of mouth feel a drinker experiences from a beverage.
• Boiling point elevation: One of the colligative properties. The boiling point of a solution is increased over that of water by the presence of solutes, and the extent of the increase is a function of both concentration and molecular weight.
• Boiling-water canner: Large standard-sized lidded kettle with jar rack, designed for heat-processing 7 quarts or 8 to 9 pints in boiling water.
• Botulism: Acute food poisoning caused by eating toxin produced by growth Clostridium Botulinum bacteria in moist, low-acid food, containing less than 2% oxygen and stored between 40 degrees and 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Proper heat processing destroys this bacterium in canned food. Freezer temperatures inhibit its growth in frozen food. Low moisture controls its growth in dried food. High oxygen controls its growth in fresh foods.
• Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): Also known as "mad cow disease." It is a rare, chronic degenerative disease affecting the brain and central nervous system of cattle. Cattle with BSE lose their coordination, develop abnormal posture and experience changes in behavior. Clinical symptoms take 4-5 years to develop, followed by death in a period of several weeks to months unless the affected animal is destroyed sooner.
• Buffer: Mixture containing both a weak acid and a weak base capable of absorbing additions of either strong acid or strong base with little corresponding change in pH. Buffers are used for calibrating pH meters.
• Buffering salts: Buffering salts are applied to lower the gelling temperature and, in the case of low-methoxyl pectins, to delay the reaction with calcium. Thus, buffering salts are also called retarding agents.
• Bulk: Method of transporting food in large quantities, requiring that portioning be done at the receiving kitchen. Bulk food may be transported either hot or cold.
• Bulk fermentation: Whole of the dough is fermented at 27°C in a closed container to prevent surface drying.
• Bulking agents: Used to increase volume without significantly adding to the energy levels of the food. Normally used in diet foods but can also be used to pad out expensive ingredients. Not usually digested and acts as a source of dietary fibre (roughage).
• Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA): Phenolic chemical compound used to preserve foods by preventing rancidity. It may also be used as a defoaming agent for yeast. BHA is found in foods high in fats and oils; also in meats, cereals, baked goods, beer, and snack foods.
• Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT): Phenolic chemical compound used to keep food from changing flavour, odour and/or colour. It is added to foods high in fats and oils and cereals.
• Cacao: Tropical tree (Theobroma cacao) of the sterculia family native to South America and now widely cultivated in the Old World. The fruit is a pod that contains a sweet pulp with rows of embedded seeds.
• Caffeic acid: Type of phenol found in various fruits, vegetables and citrus fruits which has antioxidant like activities that may reduce the risk of degenerative diseases, heart disease and eye disease.
• Caffeine: Naturally-occurring substance found in the leaves, seeds or fruits of over 63 plant species worldwide and is part of a group of compounds known as methylxanthines. The most commonly known sources of caffeine are coffee and cocoa beans, cola nuts and tea leaves. Caffeine is a pharmacologically active substance and, depending on the dose, can be a mild central nervous system stimulant. Caffeine does not accumulate in the body over the course of time and is normally excreted within several hours of consumption.
• Caffeine in chocolate: Amount of caffeine in chocolate is very low. A 1.4 ounce piece of milk chocolate contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee. There is an average of 6 mg of caffeine in both an ounce of milk chocolate and a cup of decaf coffee, while a cup of regular coffee contains between 65 and 150 mg of caffeine.
• Calcium: Mineral that builds bones and strengthens bones, helps in muscle contraction and heartbeat, assists with nerve functions and blood clotting. Teens 18 years and younger should strive to consume about 1,300 milligrams per day. Individuals 50 years and older need about 1,200 milligrams per day. Everyone else should strive for about 1,000 milligrams per day. Milk and other diary foods such as yogurt and most cheeses are the best sources of calcium. In addition, dark green leafy vegetables, fish with edible bones, and calcium fortified foods supply significant amounts.
• Calibrate: Determine and verify the scale of a measuring instrument with a standard, known instrument. Thermometers used in food establishments are commonly calibrated using an ice slush method 0°C (32°F) or a boiling point method 100°C (212°F).
• Calorie: Unit of energy. In heat terms, it is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 10°C. Likewise, the term kilo-calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1000 grams of water by 10°C. The kilo-calorie unit has largely been replaced by the Joule (1 kcal = 4.2 kJ). Any surplus energy taken into the body as food is stored as fat.
• Candling: Egg passing over a light. Eggs with cracked shells and interior defects are identified and removed.  
• Canning salt: Also called pickling salt. It is regular table salt without the anti-caking or iodine additives.
• Canning: Process by which a food product is enclosed in a sterilized container totally impervious to microbes and heated until all microorganisms inside the container are killed.
• Capacity of flour: Used to calculate bakery recipes.
• Carbohydrates: Components of food that give us energy. They are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Sugars and starches are examples. Characterized by the structure of C, H and O atoms with the general formulas Cx (H2O)y.
• Carboy: A large glass bottle with a narrow opening used to ferment beer.
• Carcass weight and grading: One way of pricing live farm animals; the final value of the animal is determined after slaughter based on carcass weight and grade.
• Carotenoid: Yellow, orange and red pigments in plants, often masked by chlorophyll and thought to function as protective antioxidants.
• Carrageenan: Compound extracted from Irish moss (a type of seaweed) that is used in puddings, milk shakes and ice cream to stabilize and keep colour and flavour even.
• Carriers and carrier solvents: Used to modify a food additive (by dissolving, diluting or dispersing etc.), without changing its function, to enable easier use or handling.
• Case hardening: Formation of a dry skin on a wet food due to over-rapid drying. It slows the rate of drying and can lead to spoilage during storage.
• Caster Sugar: Produced by screening the finer crystals from ordinary granulated sugar. Its grain size is typically less than 0.3 mm in length, as against some 0.5 - 0.7mm for the usual granulated crystal.
• Catalyst: Compound that facilitates a reaction without being altered in the process.
• Catechins: Type of flavonoid found in tea which provides the health benefits of neutralizing free radicals and possibly reducing the risk of cancer.
• Cavity: Metallic enclosure in the microwave system where the microwaves coming from the waveguide do the heating.
• Centrifugation: Process by which liquid samples are spun around at high speed to cause the accelerated settling of particles in suspension.
• Certification: Procedure by which official certification bodies or officially bodies provide written or equivalent assurance that foods or food control systems conform to requirements. Certification of food may be, as appropriate, based on a range of inspection activities which may include continuous on-line inspection, auditing of quality assurance systems, and examination of finished products.
• Chemical hazard: Danger posed to food safety by the contamination of food by chemical substances, such as pesticides, detergents, additives, and toxic metals.
• Chemical indicator system: System using calibrated chemical agents (one type of which changes colour as a function of time and temperature of exposure to heat) to determine whether a process cycle has met the specified requirements.
• Chemical inertness: Substances or elements which do not react easily with any other substances or elements. Chemically inactive materials.
• Chlorination: Addition of chlorine to water to destroy micro-organisms.
• Chlorine: Chemical used in the form of hypochlorites in sanitizing solutions. Chlorine compounds can tarnish and corrode metals like pewter, brass, and silver plate, if used in incorrect concentrations.
• Chocolate: Food prepared from ground roasted cacao beans.
• Chocolate liquor: Ground up centre (nib) of the cacao bean (otherwise known as unsweetened chocolate) in a smooth, liquid state. It contains no alcoho.
• Chocolatier: Person or business that makes or sells chocolate confections.
• Cholesterol: Classified as a sterol and is an important fat-soluble compound in animal cells (therefore, animal fats), but only found in trace amounts in plants (therefore, vegetable oils).
• Citric acid: Form of acid that can be added to canned foods. It increases the acidity of low-acid foods and may improve the flavour.
• Clean: Free of visible soil including food particles and dirt. Example: Removal of all grossly visible faecal material, followed with a power wash of all surfaces using detergent to remove adherent proteins and debris would be expected to result in a clean finishing area. Merely removing all grossly visible organic matter and pressure-spraying with water alone would NOT result in a clean area.
• Clostridium Botulinum: Vegetables, some tomatoes, figs, all meats, fish, seafoods and some dairy foods are low acid. To control all risks of botulism; jars of these foods must be (l) heat processed in a pressure canner, or (2) acidified to a pH of 4.6 or lower before processing in boiling water.
• Co field flow: One possible configuration for a PEF continuous chamber.
• Cobalamin: Another name for vitamin B12.
• Cocoa: Obtained by fermenting the pods and then curing and roasting the extracted seeds. The resulting clean kernels, or cocoa nibs, are then processed. Cacao products have high food value due to their fat, carbohydrate, and protein content. Powder composed of at least 22% cocoa butter.  
• Cocoa bean: Seeds from a pod of the Theobroma tree.
• Cocoa powder: The cocoa solids resulting from pressing cocoa butter out of chocolate liquor.
• Coenzymes: Small molecules that help enzymes carry out biochemical reactions. Many of the vitamins are coenzymes or are converted into coenzymes in the body.
• Co-extrusion (or Co-ex film): Multi-layer plastic film made by extruding two or more molten plastics and layering them together to produce a film on cooling. They are designed for many special-purpose packaging for flexible wraps, bags and pouches.  
• Cold pack: Canning procedure in which jars are filled with raw food. "Raw pack" is the preferred term for describing this practice. "Cold pack" is often used incorrectly to refer to foods that are open-kettle canned or jars that are heat-processed in boiling water.
• Cold pressed olive oil: Extracted oil from olives using a mechanical, and without any addition of chemicals or heat. The process takes place at temperatures less than 35°C.
• Cold smoked: Product is smoked in a relatively cool smoking chamber and not cooked. Product not considered shelf-stable requires maintenance of at most a 5°C (41°F). internal product temperature during smoking.
• Coliforms: Bacteria (primarily E. coli and Enterobacter aerogenes) used as an indicator of the sanitary quality of food. High levels of coliforms indicate the presence of fecal contamination in food and water.
• Collagen: Protein that is the main constituent of the body's connective tissues.
• Collagen hydrolysate: Functional component of gelatin which may help improve some symptoms associated with osteoarthritis.
• Colligative properties: Properties which depend on the number of molecules in solution, a function of concentration and molecular weight, rather than just on the total percent concentration. Such properties include boiling point elevation, freezing point depression, and osmotic concentration.
• Colony: Cluster of microorganisms growing on a surface of or within a nutrient medium. A colony contains millions of bacteria cells.
• Colony forming unit (CFU): Unit of measurement for viable bacteria numbers.
• Colours: Used to restore or reinforce colour lost during processing or storage, to give colour to foods which otherwise would be virtually colourless (such as soft drinks) and to ensure uniformity from batch to batch.
• Commercial chocolate: Commercial chocolate does not mean real chocolate. The criteria for a substance to be classified as commercial chocolate allows for a number of substitutes.
• Composite: Flours mixtures of wheat flour (usually more than 80%) with other flours such as maize, rice, sorghum etc(usually less than 20%).
• Compound: Known as confectionery coating. A blend of sugar, vegetable oil, cocoa powder and other products. Vegetable oil is substituted for cocoa butter to reduce the product cost and to make the coating easier to work with.
• Compression time: Recorded time to bring a mass of food from 0.1 MPa to process pressure(s).
• Concentration Factor: Ratio of aliquot volume divided by the final volume.
• Conching: Raw unprocessed chocolate is gritty, grainy and really not suitable for eating. The name 'conching' comes from the shell-like shape of the rollers used.
• Conditioning: Standardisation of the moisture content of grains or oilseeds before milling.
• Conductivity (electrical): Physical property of a food material that determines its ability to conduct electricity and is expressed in Siemens per cm (S/cm). In ohmic heating, it enables heating to occur.
• Conductivity (thermal): Physical property of a food material which determines its ability to conduct heat. Expressed in Watts/meter oC.  
• Confectionery fat: Describes a broad range of fats used in the formulation of confectionery products, for example, fats used in taffy and caramel to provide lubricity. The primary application for confectionery fats is in formulation of compound coatings.
• Conjugated lenoleic acid (CLA): Type of fatty acid found in cheeses and some meat products which may provide the health benefits of improving body composition and decreasing the risk of certain cancers.
• Consistency: Sensoric physical property of a food (texture) e.g. firm/soft, rough/smooth, elastic/visco-elastic, spreadable.
• Consumer: Any person who uses goods and services.
• Consumer control points: Points in the process of food preparation when harmful microorganisms can contaminate the food. When conditions such as time, temperature or moisture may encourage the growth of microorganisms. Food handling practices that prevent foodborne illness are critical at these points.
• Contamination: Process by which harmful or unpleasant substances (such as metal or plastic material, strong odours, bacteria or poisons) get into or onto food.
• Continuous chamber: Opposite to static chamber, it processes liquid foods that are pumped between pulsing electrodes.
• Continuous HPP process treatment: Treatment of liquiform products using a hold chamber designed to insure every food element receives a specified residence time at process pressure (and temperature) with subsequent means for the product to do work during decompression followed by aseptic or clean filling of packages.
• Control point: Position in a food processing or handling system where inadequate control would result in food contamination, but there are management programs, procedures, or practices downstream of this position to prevent the material or food from reaching the consumer.
• Convenience foods: Food items that have been purchased pre-processed and that may or may not require additional preparation before serving.
• Conventional cook-chill: When foods are cooked by conventional methods prior to aseptic packaging and chilling. These foods can be refrigerated for up to five days.
• Conventional foodservice system: Foodservice system in which food is purchased all along the food processing continuum, prepared, and served to customers on site.
• Conventional heating: Heating of a substance by transfer of thermal energy from a heating medium to a low temperature product.
• Converter plate: Heavy metal (usually lead) plate that converts an electron beam into Bremsstrahlung X-rays with a broad-band photon energy spectrum.
• Couverture: Special kind of chocolate that has more cocoa butter than regular chocolate, anywhere from 33% to 38%. This type of chocolate is used as a coating for things like truffles. There are two ways of coating candies, either by hand dipping into melted chocolate or enrobing, gently pouring chocolate over the confection.
• CPET (Crystallised polyethylene terephthalate): Type of plastic suitable for microwave packaging. It is heat resistant to 220°C and transparent to microwave energy.
• Craft beers: Beers that are made by independent brewers, using only quality malt and hops and employing traditional brewing methods.
• Critical Control Points (CCP): Points in the flow of food through a foodservice operation where controls can be put in place to prevent food borne illness. Critical control points include such steps as receiving, storing, preparing, transporting, and serving foods.
• Critical control: Stage in a process where quality control can have a major effect on food quality and safety.
• Critical faults: Faults in a product or package that would injure a consumer or cause substantial financial loss to the producer.
• Critical process factor: Any specified process condition and specified limit (see process deviation) required to achieve a desired/specified residual level of activity of a specified pathogen. For instance in HPP critical process factors can include, but not be limited to, process pressure, product IT, process temperature, pH, Aw, product composition, compression time, and process pressure hold time.
• Cross contamination: Transfer of harmful substances or disease-causing microorganisms to food by hands, food-contact surfaces, sponges, cloth towels and utensils that touch raw food that are not cleaned, and then touch ready-to-eat foods. Cross contamination can also occur when raw food touches or drips onto cooked or ready-to-eat foods.
• Cross-field: Ohmic heating system where the electric field is aligned across the product flow path.
• Crumb: Internal structure of baked products, especially bread and cake.
• Crustacean: Any of the various aquatic arthropods, including lobsters, crabs, shrimps and barnacles. Characteristically have segmented bodies, chitinous exoskeletons and paired, jointed limbs.
• Cyanocobalamin: Chemical name for vitamin B12.
• Cyclamate: Sweetener which is 30 times sweeter than sucrose, calorie free and heat stable and works synergistically with other sweeteners.
• Cyclotron resonance: Phenomenon that occurs when the frequency of revolving ions induced by a specific magnetic field intensity is similar to the frequency of that magnetic field and parallel to it. In these instances, energy may be transferred to the ions, affecting cell metabolic activities.
• Cyclotron: Accelerator in which particles move in spiral paths in a constant.
• DC power supply: Electrical device to deliver direct current to the capacitor bank.
• Danger Zone: Range of temperatures at which most bacteria multiply rapidly, between 5°C (41°F)and 140°F.
• Dark Chocolate: see Sweet Chocolate.
• DE value: Dextrose equivalent percentage of reducing sugar (calculated as dextrose) of glucose syrup and maltodextrin.  
• Decompression time: Recorded time to bring a mass of food from process pressure to 37% of process pressure. If decompression time is 0.5% or less of process pressure hold time it may be neglected in process determination calculations (seconds).
• Decorator's chocolate: Type of chocolate flavoured candy used for things such as covering strawberries. It was created to melt easily and harden quickly, but it isn't chocolate.
• Deesterification: see saponification.
• Degradability: Ability of materials to be broken down.
• Degree of amidation: Percentage of amidated groups.
• Degree of esterification: Percentage of methoxylated carboxyl groups in a molecule.
• Dehydration: Removal of water from the tissues of an organism.
• Demerara: Crystal sugar which contains (mostly on the surface of the crystals) a brown and very pleasantly flavoured syrup which comes from the juices of sugar cane.
• Density: Mass per unit volume of a material.
• Deodourisation: Process removes the relatively volatile trace components from the oil which contribute to flavour, odour and colour. Typically, deodourisation gives an oil that is lower than 0.05% FFA.
• Detergent: Chemical that removes soils but does not sterilise equipment.
• Detergent: Cleansing substance, especially a synthetic liquid that dissolves dirt and oil.
• Dew point: Temperature to which the air must be cooled to reach saturation (assuming air pressure remains the same). The dew point is a direct measure of the amount of moisture present in the air, and directly affects how you feel or in other words measures the amount of humidity in the air.  The temperature never drops below its dew point, but can drop to it.
• Dextrose: Glucose (cerelose).
• Diallyl sulfide: Type of sulfide/thiol found in onions, garlic, olives, leeks and scallions which may provide the health benefits of lowering LDL cholesterol and of maintaining a healthy immune system.
• Dielectric constant: Property of a material representing the ability to store electromagnetic energy.
• Dielectric loss: Property of a material representing the ability to dissipate electromagnetic energy as heat.
• Dietary supplement: Product intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients: a vitamin; mineral; herb or botanical; amino acid; any other dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake.
• Diffusion: Process by which different substances mix arising from the random movement of their individual atoms, molecules and ions.
• Diluent: Material into which the sample is diluted.
• Dilution Factor: Ratio of final volume = (aliquot + diluent) / aliquot.
• Dining area: Area provided for the consumption of food, including the serving and eating areas.
• Dipeptide: Compound consisting of two amino acid units joined together, linking the amino (-NH2) group of one with the carboxylic acid group (-COOH) of the other.
• Dipole: For oscillating magnetic fields, a magnetic particle that contains a *north* and *south* magnetic pole.
• Disaccharide: Disaccharides are a class of sugars composed of two monosaccharide units joined together. The best known example is sucrose, which is composed of a glucose molecule joined with a fructose molecule. Likewise, lactose is composed of a glucose unit with a galactose unit, and maltose is a disaccharide composed of two joined glucose units.
• Disease transmissible by food: Any number of illnesses in which food acts as the vehicle for an agent capable of causing food borne disease. Examples of diseases transmissible through food include Amebiasis, Botulism, Cholera, Campylobactor, Cryptosporidiosis, Cyclospora, E . coli 0157:H7, Giardiasis, Hepatitis A, Listeriosis, Salmonella infections, Shigellosis, Trichinosis, Typhoid fever, Yersiniosis.
• Disinfect: Clean something so as to destroy disease-carrying microorganisms and prevent infection. Example: Even after a finishing barn is clean as defined above, bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that are capable of causing disease may remain in the air or on surfaces. Application of a disinfectant after cleaning could help to destroy some of those disease-carrying microorganisms. The effectiveness of the disinfectant could be dependent on temperature, water hardness, surface texture and composition, and the effectiveness of prior washing and rinsing.
• Disinfectant: Chemical that destroys or inhibits the growth of microorganisms that cause disease.
• Disposables: Dishes, glasses, cups, trays, pans, and table accessories intended for single use.
• Dropping point: Temperature at which a sample of fat becomes sufficiently fluid to flow under the conditions of the test. A portion of molten fats introduced into a sample cup, crystallized and then heated at a constant rate. The temperature at which the sample is able to flow through the orifice in the bottom of the cup is the end point.
• Dry beer: Light-bodied brew with little aftertaste and increased alcohol.
• Dutch process: Treatment used during the making of cocoa powder in which cocoa solids are treated with an alkaline solution to neutralize acidity. This process changes the colour of the cocoa and develops a milder chocolate flavour.
• DV (Daily Value): Term used in food and supplement labeling. The amount of a vitamin or other nutrient in a serving of a food or supplement is expressed as the percentage of the total Daily Value of that nutrient, based on a daily 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet.
• D-value, decimal reduction time: Time required for a one-log cycle reduction in the microbial population, at a specific temperature, pressure, or electric field intensity. For the D-value to be meaningful, the semi logarithmic survivor curve must be a straight line.
• E No: EEC-number for food additives.
• Effluent: Liquid industrial waste.
• Egg products: Eggs that have been removed from their shells and processed. The term applies to whole eggs, whites, yolks, and various blends with or without non-egg ingredients. The term does not apply to freeze-dried products, imitation egg products, or egg substitutes.  
• Egg products processing: Processing of shell eggs into egg products involving breaking, filtering, mixing, stabilizing, blending, pasteurizing, cooling, freezing or drying, and packaging.
• Electric field intensity, E: Force on a stationary positive charge per unit charge in an electrical field. For ohmic heating and PEF, this can be calculated in an average sense as the voltage divided by the distance between the electrodes.
• Electric field strength: see Electric field intensity.
• Electrical breakdown: Abrupt rise in electric current in the presence of a small increase in voltage. As a consequence, rupture of bacterial cell membranes may occur with the application of an electric field. This effect is more pronounced in pulsed electric field treatment. In microwaves, this can happen if operating at very low pressures, as in freeze-drying.
• Electrode gap: Distance (cm) between the inner and outer electrode.
• Electrode: Part of the pH meter which, when immersed in a product sample, senses electrical potentials which are then converted to the pH measurement or that sample.
• Electroheating: see Ohmic heating.
• Electrohydraulic treatment: Rapid discharge of high voltage electricity across an electrode gap below the surface of aqueous suspensions.
• Electroporation: Phenomenon in which a microbial cell exposed to high voltage electric field pulses temporarily destabilizes the lipid bilayer and proteins of cell membranes.
• Ellagic acid: Matural-cancer fighting agent found in strawberries.
• Emissions: Discharge released into the atmosphere from processing.
• Emulsifiers: Substances which allow the mixing of two or more immiscible liquids (two liquids that don't mix together such as oil and water) to form a stable emulsion. Emulsifiers work by coating the surface of droplets of one liquid in such a way that they can stay dispersed in the second liquid.
• Emulsion: Liquid droplets dispersed in another immiscible liquid. The dispersed phase droplet size ranges from 0.1-10 µm. Important oil-in-water food emulsions, ones in which oil or fat is the dispersed phase and water is the continuous phase, include milk, cream, ice cream, salad dressings, cake batters, flavour emulsions, meat emulsions, and cream liquers. Examples of food water-in-oil emulsions are butter or margarine. Emulsions are inherently unstable because free energy is associated with the interface between the two phases. As the interfacial area increases, either through a decrease in particle size or the addition of more dispersed phase material, i.e. higher fat, more energy is needed to keep the emulsion from coalescing. Some molecules act as surface active agents (called surfactants or emulsifiers) and can reduce this energy needed to keep these phases apart.
• Endosmose: The more rapid flow from the thinner to thicker fluid. see Osmose.
• Energy: Capacity to do work. It can be manifested as heat, motion, electricity, light, etc., all of which forms are convertible into each other.
• Energy density or fluence: Energy delivered from a light source per unit area (Joules/ cm2).
• Enriched, Enrichment: Addition of nutrients to food to replace nutrients that are lost during food processing.
• Enteropathogenic: Causing illness in the intestinal tract.
• Enzymes: Chemical substances that act as catalysts in chemical reactions.
• Equilibrium pH: Final pH measured in an acidified food after all the components of the food have achieved the same acidity.
• Equilibrium relative: Moisture content at which a food does not gain or lose weight.
• Equivalence: Capability of different inspection and certification systems to meet the same objectives.
• Eutectic: Occurs when two dissimilar fats are melted, blended together and re-crystallized, the resultant mixture will melt at a lower temperature than either of the components.
• Evaporation: Loss of molecules from a liquid or solution as vapour.
• Exhausting: Removal of air from within and around food and from jars and canners. Blanching exhausts air from live food tissues. Exhausting or venting of pressure canners is necessary to prevent a risk of botulism in low-acid canned foods.
• Exdosmose: The more faster flow from the thicker to thinner fluid. see Osmose.
• Extra virgin oil: Highest quality olive oil with acidity not exceeding 1%.
• Extraction: Removing one material from another; Pectin is extracted from apple pomace by acid and thus made soluble.
• Extrusion: Forcing a viscous solution through a spinneret-like machine (similar to a shower head). Extrusion cooking is used to produce some snack foods and breakfast cereals by pushing a dough made from a cereal flour or protein mixture into a barrel and cooking the product under pressure and at high temperature and then extruding, often causing the product to expand when it comes into contact with air.
• Facultative: Bacteria that can grow either with or without free oxygen present.
• Fat: Chemical unit resulting from the chemical combination or esterification of one unit of glycerine with three units of fatty acids(triglyceride). When referring to fat, under normal ambient temperatures, the product would be in solid form.
• Fat bloom: Result of inadequate tempering or temperature abuse of a properly tempered chocolate. Visible as a dull white film on the surface of the chocolate with the possibility of a soft or crumbling texture on the interior. A visual and textural defect only. The product is fine to eat.
• Fat replacers: Developed to duplicate the taste and texture of fat, but contain fewer calories per gram than fat. Fat replacers generally fall into three categories: carbohydrate-, protein- or fat-based. The ingredients that are used to replace fat depend on how the food product will be eaten or prepared. For example, not all fat replacer ingredients are heat stable. Thus, the fat replacer that worked well in a salad dressing may not work well in a muffin mix.
• Fat-soluble vitamins: Nutrients that dissolve in fats or oils but not in water. These vitamins are often found in foods that contain fat, and fat may be necessary for their absorption from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. People who eat very little fat may have difficulty getting enough of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.
• Fatty acids: Chemical unit occurring naturally, either singly or combined, and consisting of strongly linked carbon and hydrogen atoms in a chain like structure. At the end of the chain is a reactive acid group composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. FCC: Food Chemicals Codex.
• Fermentable carbohydrates: There is a considerable range in the ease at which different carbohydrates can be attacked by micro-organisms. The most vulnerable are sugars and cooked starches. Some uncooked starches are slow to ferment, and substances such as cellulose are very resistant to attack by most micro-organisms.
• Fermentation: Changes in food caused by intentional growth of bacteria, yeast or mold. Native bacteria ferments natural sugars to lactic acid, a major flavouring and preservative in sauerkraut and in naturally fermented dills. Alcohol, vinegar, and some dairy products are also fermented foods.
• Fermentation barrel (see also carboy): Container used to ferment.
• Ferulic acid: Type of phenol found in various fruits and vegetables and citrus fruits which has antioxidant like activities that may reduce the risk of degenerative diseases, heart disease and eye disease.
• Fibre: Dietary fiber generally refers to parts of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes that can't be digested by humans. Meats and dairy products do not contain fibre. Studies indicate that high- fibre diets can reduce the risks of heart disease and certain types of cancer. There are two basic types of fiber - insoluble and soluble. Soluble fibre in cereals, oatmeal, beans and other foods has been found to lower blood cholesterol. Insoluble fibre in cauliflower, cabbage and other vegetables and fruits helps move foods through the stomach and intestine, thereby decreasing the risk of cancers of the colon and rectum.
• Filling temperature: Following parameters have to be considered: solids content, pH value, type of pectin, filling quantity, the filling temperature must be higher than the gelling temperature.
• Fill-weight: Amount of food placed into a container or package and written on the label (also net weight).
• Filtration: Process of passing a liquid through a filter to remove any solid particles.
• Final proof: Tinned loaves are placed in a prover at 35°C (85-90% RH) until desired height is reached before baking.
• Finishing kitchen: Kitchen that receives prepared foods for reconstituting or heating, assembling, portioning, and serving. Also known as a receiving kitchen or a satellite.
• Firming agents: Used to make or retain firmness or crispness in fruit and vegetables and to strengthen gels.
• Flavanones: Type of flavonoid found in citrus fruits which provides the health benefits of neutralizing free radicals and possibly reducing the risk of cancer.
• Flavour: Description of the sensation aroused by taste testing. In a fat or oil, a bland or neutral flavour is usually desired so that natural flavours of food will permeate.
• Flavour enhancers: Used to enhance or bring out the flavour and/or odour in foods without imparting a distinctive flavour of their own.
• Flour improvers: Used to enhance the elastic properties and aid the development of dough. Also accelerates the effect of bleaching agents.
• Flow diagram: Graphic representation of the movement of food products from the receiving through processes.
• Flow of food: Path from receiving through storing, preparing, cooking, holding, serving, cooling, and reheating that food follows in a foodservice system.
• Fluoride: Fluoride is the ionic form of the gas fluorine. It is commonly found in nature e.g., as the mineral fluorspar (calcium fluorite Ca F2). Foam: Gas dispersed in a liquid where the gas bubbles are the discrete phase. There are many food foams including whipped creams, ice cream, carbonated soft drinks, mousses, meringues, and the head of a beer. A foam is likewise unstable and needs a stabilizing agent to form the gas bubble membrane.
• Foaming: Development and persistence of bubbles on the surface of fats during frying operations. Persistent foaming and accumulation of thick layers of foam may be indicative of fat breakdown.
• Foaming agents: Used to provide a uniform dispersion of gas in a food.
• Focusing: Concentration of electromagnetic waves inside a food due to its curved surface, much like a lens focussing light waves. It leads to enhanced heating at the interior.
• Folate: One of the forms of the B vitamin folacin. Refers to the bound forms of the vitamin that are naturally present in foods.
• Folic acid: Form of the B vitamin folacin in dietary supplements. It is much easier for the human body to make use of folic acid than folate.
• Food: Those substances that are eaten or otherwise taken in the body to: sustain psychological and physiological life; support growth and repair and replacement of tissues; and provide energy and nutrition...in essence, the sum of all the processes concerned with the growth, maintenance and repair of the body and/or its organs and systems.
• Food acids: Citric acid, tartaric acid, or malic acid used for adjusting the pH value in food.
• Food contact surface: Any surface of equipment, utensils, containers, wrappings that come in direct contact with food.
• Foodborne illness/disease: Illness resulting from acquiring a disease that is carried or transmitted to humans by food containing harmful substances.
• Food contamination: Foreign material that is absorbed by the food during production, processing, distribution, and food handling in the home. It includes chemical substances, such as pesticides and cleaning preparations, metals, stones, bandages, and biological materials including viruses and microorganisms causing food borne diseases.
• Food idiosyncrasy: Non-allergic reaction to food or food component that occurs through unknown mechanisms.
• Food intolerance: Adverse reaction to a food or food component that does not involve the body’s immune system.
• Food irradiation: Process of exposing food to radiation (rays of energy).
• Food preservatives: Prevent spoilage either by slowing the growth of organisms that live on food or by protecting the food from oxygen. Antimicrobials are preservatives that protect food by slowing the growth of bacteria, molds and yeasts. Antioxidants are preservatives that protect by preventing food molecules from combining with oxygen (air).
• Food processing: Using food as a raw material and changing it in some way to make a food product.
• Food safety: Protecting the food supply from microbial, chemical (i.e. rancidity, browning) and physical (i.e. drying out, infestation) hazards or contamination that may occur during all stages of food production and handling-growing, harvesting, processing, transporting, preparing, distributing and storing. The goal of food safety monitoring is to keep food wholesome.
• Food safety hazards: Include all microbiological, chemical, and foreign materials that, if consumed, could cause injury or harm.
• Food spoilage: Food that has decayed or decomposed. Rate of spoilage depends on surrounding environmental factors such as temperature, atmosphere and moisture. Spoiled food does not cause foodborne illness. There must be a sufficient level of hazardous material to cause such an illness.
• Foodborne illness/disease/poisoning: Illnesses which result from ingestion of contaminating microbial pathogens (i.e., bacteria, mold, viruses), chemicals, parasites, viruses or from naturally occurring toxins or poisons. Bacterial food borne disease are of two major types -intoxication and infection.
• Foodborne intoxication: Illness caused by ingestion of food containing a toxin (metabolic byproduct) that was formed and excreted into the food as a result of pathogenic microbial growth (i.e. Clostridium botulinium, Staphyloccccus aureus.)
• Foodborne toxin mediated infection: Disease that results from eating a food containing a large number of disease-causing microorganisms.
• Fortification: Addition of nutrients that are not naturally present in the food or the addition of amounts greater than those naturally present. This is different from "enrichment," which refers to the addition of nutrients to replace those lost in food processing. Important examples of food fortification include the addition of iodine to salt, the addition of vitamin D to milk, and the addition of the B vitamin folic acid to grain products.
• Fortified: Addition of nutrients to food.
• Fractionation: Controlled crystallization and separation techniques involving the separation of hard and soft fractions of a fat. Such processes are often employed in the production of oils, high stability frying oils and cocoa butter alternatives fats.
• Free Fatty Acids (FFA): Bound fatty acids in monoglycerides, diglycerides and triglycerides may be released under certain conditions, to yield free acids.
• Free radicals: Atoms or molecules with an unpaired electron. Formation of free radicals is a normal oxidation process in foods and are formed during food treatments such as toasting, frying, freeze drying, and irradiation. They are generally very reactive, unstable structures that continuously react with substances to form stable products. Free radicals disappear by reacting with each other in the presence of liquids, such as saliva in the mouth. Consequently, their ingestion does not create any toxicological or other harmful effects.
• Freezing point depression: Colligative property associated with the number of dissolved molecules. The lower the molecular weight, the greater the ability of a molecule to depress the freezing point for any given concentration. For example, in ice cream manufacturing, monosaccharides such as fructose or glucose produce a much softer ice cream than disaccharides such as sucrose, if the concentration of both is the same.