Biotechnology for Improved Foods and Flavors.

Biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents to provide goods and services. Biotechnology comes from such ancient methods as brewing beer, leavening bread, making cheese, and in the Far East, the production of soy sauce, miso, sake. Today, science has explored these ancient methods and natural occurrences and tamed them to improve quality. Benefits are flowing from the detailed knowledge of enzyme and microbial transformations, enabling the "natural" production of new and novel foods and flavours. This book brings together many experts who gave lectures at the 1995 meeting of the ACS Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in Honolulu.

Following the Preface, the Contents are: Food and Agricultural Biotechnology; The Potential Impact of Biotechnology in the Food Industry; the Usefulness of Transglutaminase for Food Processing; Biotechnology of Astaxanthin Production in Phaffia Rhodozyma; Antimicrobial, Insecticidal and Medicinal Properties of Natural Product Flavors and Fragrances; Charasteristic Odorants of Wasabi (Wasabia japonica matum), Japanese Horseradish, in Comparison with those of Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana); Creation of Transgenic Citrus Free from Limonin Bitterness; Effect of Amide Content on Thermal Generation of Maillard Flavor in Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein; Production of Volatile Compounds in Suspension Cell Cutlures of Coriandrum satibrum L. and Levisticum officinales; In Vitro Tailoring of Tomatoes to Meet Process and Fresh-Market Standards; Generation of Flavors by Microorganisms and Enzymes; Sensory Analysis and Quantative Determination of Grape Glycosides; Contribution of These Data to Winemaking and Viticulture; Chimetric B-Glucosidases with Increased Heat Stability; Biogeneration of Volatile Compounds via Oxylipins in Edible Seaweeds; Elimination of Bitterness of Bitter Peptides by Squid Liver Carboxypeptidase; Microbial Transformation of Monoterpenes: Flavor and Biological Activity; Microbial Oxidation of Alcohols by Candida boidinii: Selective Oxidation; Alcohol Acetyl Transferase Genes and Ester Formation in Brewer's Yeast; Plant Biochemical Regulators and Agricultural Crops; Analytical Methodology in Biotechnology; Existence of Different Oriogins for Methoxypyrazines of Grapes and Wines; Development of Flavor Attributes in the Fruit of C.melo During Ripening and Storage; Methods for Isolating Food and Plant Volatiles; Modern Biotechnology in Plant Breeding: Analysis of Glycoalkaloids in Transgenic Potatoes; Application of Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Liquid Chromatography - Tandem Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Flavor Precursors; Application of New Microwave Reactors for Food and Flavor Research; Characterization of Citrus Aroma Quality by Odor Threshold Values; Carotenoid-Derived Aroma Compounds: Biogenetic and Biotechnological Aspects; Biotechnology and the Development of Functional Foods: New Opportunities; followed by Author Index, Affiliation Index and Subject Index.