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Principles and
Basics of Food
Chemistry
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FOR FSSAI EXAM
Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

Principles and Basics of Food Chemistry

For FSSAI Exam

Table of Contents
What is Food Chemistry? ........................................................................................................................ 1
Structure and Functions of Macro-and Micronutrients.......................................................................... 2
Structure ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Functions of Macronutrients and Micronutrients .............................................................................. 2
Macronutrients in Plants and their Functions .................................................................................... 2
Micronutrients in Plants and Their Functions ..................................................................................... 3
Role of Macro and Micronutrients in Human Nutrition ..................................................................... 5
Overview of Food Additives Concerning their Technological Functions ................................................ 5
Overview of Anti-Nutritional Factors and their Removal from Foods .................................................... 6
Overview of Enzymes as Food Processing Aids....................................................................................... 7
Overview of Nutraceuticals and Functions Foods .................................................................................. 7
Overview of Food Contaminants and Adulterants and their Effects on Human Health......................... 8
Food Allergens and Allergen City ............................................................................................................ 8
Importance of Diet in Alleviating Health Risks, especially Non-Communicable Diseases ...................... 8
FSSAI Mock Tests & Online Study Material........................................................................................... 10

What is Food Chemistry?

Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological
components of foods.

✓ The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, milk as examples.

✓ It is similar to biochemistry in its main components such as carbohydrates, lipids, and protein,
but it also includes areas such as water, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, food additives, flavours,
and colours.

✓ This discipline also encompasses how products change under certain food processing
techniques and ways either to enhance or to prevent them from happening.

✓ An example of enhancing a process would be to encourage fermentation of dairy products

with microorganisms that convert lactose to lactic acid; an example of preventing a process
would be stopping the browning on the surface of freshly cut apples using lemon juice or other
acidulated water.
Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

Structure and Functions of Macro-and Micronutrients

Structure

Functions of Macronutrients and Micronutrients

It is good to know the structure and functions of macro and micronutrients for gaining information
about these in a better way and recognize the role of each of them, Let’s know the functions they
perform in the plants one by one for macro and micronutrients:

Macronutrients in Plants and their Functions

The most important crop nutrients are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium that affect plant growth
directly and create various parts of plants.

❖ Nitrogen: Functions:

• Metabolism is an important substance and part of amino acids, proteins, and

enzymes.

• Influences germination and vegetative growth.

• Being a component of chlorophyll, it plays an important role in photosynthesis.

• Responsible for the rapid growth of foliage.

• Provides green colour to the plants.

• Deficiency of Iron in plants results in stunted crop growth, chlorosis or yellowing of

leaves, weakness during fruiting and flowering, leading to lower yields.

• Too much nitrogen is also not good for plants as it causes dark green colouring of
leaves, lush growth, crop lodging and fruit quality reduction.
Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

❖ Phosphorus: Functions:

• Development of roots.

• Maintaining a good quality of flowering, fruiting and seed production.

• Storing and transporting energy.

• Resistance to disease.

• Deficiency of Phosphorus leads to stunted plant growth, weakened roots, thin shoots
and dark green/purple/red leaves.

• Excessive amounts of Phosphorus can cause lower reception and deficiency of other
elements like Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, and B.

❖ Potassium (K): Functions:

• Influencing water uptake.

• Improving drought tolerance.

• Improvement in cold hardiness.

• Providing resistance to fungal diseases and insect pests.

• Synthesizing proteins, sugar, and fat.

• Deficiency of Potassium in plants leads to growth reduction, burning or yellowing of

the leaf margins and dead spots on older leaves.

• Excess amounts are also not so beneficial as they affect the uptake of other nutrients
including magnesium, calcium, and nitrogen.

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Micronutrients in Plants and Their Functions

Boron, Iron, Manganese and Zinc are the most important micronutrients in a plant organism. Let’s find
out:

❖ Boron: Functions:

• Sugar transport

• Amino acid production

• Cell wall formation

Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

• Crop reproduction

• Fruiting

• Flowering.

• Improvement of crop quality.

• Boron deficiency in plants can show various symptoms that include stunted growth of
young crops, deformation of leaves, death of growing points, dark brown lesions on
leaves, poor flowering and chlorosis or yellowing of leaves.

• It should be ensured that Boron application should be before the flowering stage in
crops, applying later is not beneficial.

❖ Iron (Fe): Functions:

• Chlorophyll production

• Photosynthesis

• Enzyme composition

• Influences energy transfer, nitrogen reduction and fixation.

• Lignin formation.

• Deficiency in iron in plants harms younger leaves as it causes yellowing between the
veins.

❖ Manganese (Mn): Functions:

• Influences chloroplast production.

• Actively Participating in the photosynthetic process.

• Activation of enzymes and influencing germination plus crop maturity.

• Deficiency in Mn also may lead to yellowing of veins in the younger leaves called
chlorosis.

❖ Zinc: Functions:

• Early growth stages.

• Development of root, seed, and fruit.

• In the process of photosynthesis.

Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

• Balancing plant hormones.

• The activity of auxins.

• Deficiency of Zinc results in stunted growth, length reduction of internodes, smaller

young leaves, and yellowing on the lower leaves.

Role of Macro and Micronutrients in Human Nutrition

✓ Food is composed of a wide distribution of nutrients, which have very specific metabolic
effects on the human body.

✓ Macronutrients constitute the majority of an individual's diet, thereby supplying energy, and
the essential nutrients that are needed for growth, maintenance, and activity.

✓ Micronutrients (including vitamins and minerals) derive their name from the fact that they
are needed in relatively small amounts in comparison to the macronutrients- carbohydrates,
fats, proteins, and water.

✓ Vitamins are organic substances that we ingest with our foods, and that act as catalysts,
substances that help to trigger other reactions in the body.

✓ Trace minerals are inorganic substances that once ingested play a role in a variety of metabolic
processes and contribute to the synthesis of such elements as glycogen, protein, and fats.

✓ There are also non-nutrient components of the diet such as soluble and insoluble fibres, which
play an important role in human nutrition.

Mock Tests & Study Pack for Technical Officers, Central Food Safety Officers (CFSO) and Assistants

Overview of Food Additives Concerning their Technological Functions

✓ Substances that are added to food to maintain or improve the safety, freshness, taste, texture,
or appearance of food are known as food additives.

✓ Some food additives have been in use for centuries for preservation – such as salt (in meats
such as bacon or dried fish), sugar (in marmalade), or sulphur dioxide (in wine).

✓ Many different food additives have been developed over time to meet the needs of food
production, as making food on a large scale is very different from making them on a small
scale at home.

✓ Additives are needed to ensure processed food remains safe and in good condition
throughout its journey from factories or industrial kitchens, during transportation to
warehouses and shops, and finally to consumers.
Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

✓ The use of food additives is only justified when their use has a technological need, does not
mislead consumers, and serves a well-defined technological function, such as to preserve the
nutritional quality of the food or enhance the stability of the food.

✓ Food additives can be derived from plants, animals, or minerals, or they can be synthetic, they
are added intentionally to food to perform certain technological purposes which consumers
often take for granted.

✓ There are several thousand food additives used, all of which are designed to do a specific job
in making food safer or more appealing.

Overview of Anti-Nutritional Factors and their Removal from Foods

✓ Legumes and cereals contain high amounts of macronutrients and micronutrients but also
anti-nutritional factors.

✓ Major anti-nutritional factors, which are found in edible crops include saponins, tannins,
phytic acid, gossypol, lectins, protease inhibitors, amylase inhibitor, and goitrogens.

✓ Anti-nutritional factors combine with nutrients and act as the major concern because of
reduced nutrient bioavailability.

✓ Various other factors like trypsin inhibitors and phytates, which are present mainly in legumes
and cereals, reduce the digestibility of proteins and mineral absorption.
✓ Anti-nutrients are one of the key factors, which reduce the bioavailability of various
components of the cereals and legumes.

✓ These factors can cause micronutrient malnutrition and mineral deficiencies.

✓ There are various traditional methods and technologies, which can be used to reduce the
levels of these anti-nutrient factors.

✓ Several processing techniques and methods such as fermentation, germination, debranning,

autoclaving, soaking etc. are used to reduce the anti-nutrient contents in foods.

✓ By using various methods alone or in combinations, it is possible to reduce the level of anti-
nutrients in foods.

✓ This review is focused on different types of anti-nutrients, and possible processing methods
that can be used to reduce the level of these factors in food products.

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Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

Overview of Enzymes as Food Processing Aids

✓ Food and feed are possibly the area where processing anchored in biological agents has the
deepest roots.

✓ Despite this, process improvement or design and implementation of novel approaches has
been consistently performed, and more so in recent years, where significant advances in
enzyme engineering and biocatalyst design have fastened the pace of such developments.

✓ Targeted improvements aim at enzymes with enhanced thermal and operational stability,
improved specific activity, modification of pH-activity profiles, and increased product
specificity, among others.

✓ This has been mostly achieved through protein engineering and enzyme immobilization, along
with improvements in screening.

✓ The latter has been considerably improved due to the implementation of high-throughput
techniques, and due to developments in protein expression and microbial cell culture.

✓ Expanding screening to relatively unexplored environments (marine, temperature extreme

environments) has also contributed to the identification and development of more efficient
biocatalysts.

Overview of Nutraceuticals and Functions Foods

✓ Nutraceuticals have received considerable interest because of their safety and substantial
nutritional and therapeutic effects.

✓ Nutraceuticals are used in the treatment and prevention of different diseases.

✓ Nutrients, herbals, and dietary supplements are major components of nutraceuticals for
maintaining health, act against various disease conditions and thus promoting the quality of
life.

Uses of Nutraceuticals

• Nutraceuticals may be used to improve health, delay the ageing process, prevent
chronic diseases, increase life expectancy, or support the structure or function of the
body.

Mock Tests & Study Pack for Technical Officers, Central Food Safety Officers (CFSO) and Assistants
Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

Overview of Food Contaminants and Adulterants and their Effects on Human

Health

✓ Adulteration of food is defined as the addition or subtraction of any substance to or from

food so that the natural composition and quality of the original food substance is affected.

✓ It is difficult for the consumer to detect the extent of adulteration.

✓ Adulteration of foods can either be intentional, unintentional, or natural.

Effects Of Food Adulteration

• Food adulteration can have a range of harmful effects on health. It can not only lead
to toxicity in the body but also can lead the body to paralysis or eventually death.
Thus, it becomes very important to detect these adulterants.

• Some of the adulterants are highly toxic for the body leading to heart failure, liver
disorders, kidney disorders & many more.

• Adulteration also affects the quality of the product leading to hindrance to the
nutritive value of the product thus leading to nutritive deficiency in our body.

Food Allergens and Allergen City

✓ Allergies are abnormal immune system reactions to things that are typically harmless to most
people, when a person is allergic to something, the immune system mistakenly believes that
this substance is harming the body.

✓ Substances that cause allergic reactions- such as some foods, dust, plant pollen, or medicines
- are known as allergens.

✓ Approximately 20% to 30 % of the total population in India suffers from at least one allergic
disease, out of this, about 15% develop Asthma, Urban children have higher prevalence with
male predominance, about 4.5% of adolescents are allergic to certain food items leading to
asthma, rhinitis, or both.

Importance of Diet in Alleviating Health Risks, especially Non-Communicable

Diseases

✓ An increasing aging population worldwide accounts for a growing share of non-communicable

diseases (NCDs) of the overall social and economic burden.

✓ Dietary and nutritional approaches are of paramount importance in the management of

NCDs.
Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

✓ As a result, nutrition programs are increasingly integrated into public health policies.

✓ At present, programs aimed at reducing the burden of NCDs have focused mostly on the
excess of unhealthy nutrient intakes whereas the importance of optimizing adequate essential
and semi-essential nutrient intakes and nutrient-rich diets has received less attention.

✓ Surveys indicate that nutrient intakes of the ageing population are insufficient to optimally
support healthy ageing.

✓ Vitamin and mineral deficiencies in older adults are related to increased risk of NCDs including
fatigue, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive and neuromuscular function impairments.

✓ Reviewed literature demonstrates that improving intake for certain nutrients may be
important in reducing progress of NCDs such as musculoskeletal disorders, dementia, loss of
vision, and cardiometabolic diseases during aging.

✓ Current knowledge concerning improving individual nutrient intakes to reduce the

progression of chronic disease is still emerging with varying effect sizes and levels of evidence.

✓ The most pronounced benefits of nutrients were found in participants who had low nutrient
intake or status at baseline or who had increased genetic and metabolic needs for that
nutrient.

✓ Authorities should implement ways to optimize essential nutrient intake as an integral part of
their strategies to address NCDs.
Principles & Basics of Food Chemistry Free FSSAI e-book

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