Preface

Chapter 5 **Safety and Quality in the Agricultural Product Chain**

Harada and Osamu Kawamura

Elisa Y. Hirooka, Elisabete Y.S. Ono, Cássia R. Takabayashi-Yamashita, Angélica T. Ishikawa, Douglas F. Barbin, Jaqueline G. Bordini, Melissa T. Hirozawa, Wagner E. Risso, Ana L.S.M. Felício, Artur K. Bagatin, Tatiana Á. Miguel, Thiago M. Souza, Yumi Tabuchi, Josemarque L. Rosa, Leonardo F. Maciel, Dani L. D. Silva, Renata P. Sobottka, André M. Prando, Sandra Garcia, Claudemir Zucareli, Emilia K. Kuroda, Elisabete H. Hashimoto, Diva de Souza Andrade, Martha Z. Miranda, Maria S. Miranda, Eliete S. Bispo, Adriana L. Soares, Massami Shimokomaki, Myrna Sabino, Eiko N. Itano, Tomoaki Tsutsumi, Satoshi Nagata, Yoshitsugu Sugiura, Ken-Ichi

Suzana Caetano da Silva Lannes and Alline Aurea do Amaral

**in Brazil 137**

**VI** Contents

Chapter 6 **Low-Fat Foods 167**

This book is an example of a successful and excellent addition to the literature on the topic of Food Production and Industry within the scientific world. The book is divided into six chapters, consisting of selected topics in food production and consumption and food preser‐ vation. All the six chapters have been written by renowned professionals working in Food Production and Industry and related disciplines.

The first chapter of the book deals with local food research, an area of study with a vast number of possible areas of future research. Local farmers will find value in knowing that market potential does exist for their product, and consumers are expressing an interest in purchasing locally produced food at all channels of distribution. Their motivation to buy local food products is not driven by fear and concern over food products but rather by key information on country of origin, nutritional value, freshness and healthiness. This informa‐ tion can be found in the packaging (i.e. date of packaging, contact information, etc.). In terms of channels of distribution, many people expressed a willingness to purchase local food products if available at their supermarkets, local grocery stores and specialty stores, while only a very small percentage considered the farmer's market. However, this may de‐ feat the philosophy of buying and eating local. Further, it is important for farmers to note that consumers do express a willingness to pay a premium for their local food products.

The shelf life of foods is being reformulating based on scientific evidence to the satisfaction of health authorities, import countries and different stakeholders. For this, a systematic ap‐ proach for establishing by-product category shelf lives should be adopted. Research and technological centres, universities, food industries and sectorial associations should agree in standardized protocols to face this challenge. This could be applied to food production sys‐ tems where a complex set of variables requires monitoring combined with complex reason‐ ing to assure safety and quality.

The remaining chapters in Part I deal with commercial applications of food production and consumption. From our point of view, as consumer safety questions are discussed, food preservation through radiation as a contribution to food safety will reach the same recogni‐ tion as the sterilization of medical products in terms of preventing the spread of infectious diseases. For this reason, scientists have the responsibility to help the consumer understand the radiation process and its potential to protect our health and thus improve our lives.

Part II consists of three comprehensive overviews: The Role of Yeast and Lactic Acid Bacte‐ ria in the Production of Fermented Beverages in South America; Safety and Quality in Agri‐ cultural Product Chain in Brazil; and Low Fat Foods.

We truly hope that this book, with its visionary approach, will be a valuable addition to the food engineering literature and will promote interest in Food Production and Industry re‐ search, development and implementation. Finally, I acknowledge that each of the authors has provided their extraordinary competence and leadership in the specific field and that the publisher, with its enterprise and expertise, has enabled this project which includes vari‐ ous nations and continents. Thanks to them, I have the honour to be the editor of this book.

## **Prof. Dr. Ayman Hafiz Amer Eissa**

Professor of Food Process Engineering, Department of Agriculture Engineering, Minoufiya University, Shibin El-kom, Egypt **Food Production and Consumption**

We truly hope that this book, with its visionary approach, will be a valuable addition to the food engineering literature and will promote interest in Food Production and Industry re‐ search, development and implementation. Finally, I acknowledge that each of the authors has provided their extraordinary competence and leadership in the specific field and that the publisher, with its enterprise and expertise, has enabled this project which includes vari‐ ous nations and continents. Thanks to them, I have the honour to be the editor of this book.

VIII Preface

**Prof. Dr. Ayman Hafiz Amer Eissa** Professor of Food Process Engineering, Department of Agriculture Engineering,

> Minoufiya University, Shibin El-kom, Egypt

**Chapter 1**

**Alternative Foods — Marketing Perspectives on the Production and Distribution Systems**
