ABSTRACT
Chemicals are the building blocks of foods and hence are responsible for the physical and sensory properties of those foods. During freezing and frozen storage, chemical reactions occur and while they are slower than those occurring at higher temperatures, they often have undesirable consequences. To quantify those changes, analyses have been developed that target either substrates or products of the reactions. This chapter provides an overview of those chemical measurements that assess degradation of vitamins, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and pigments. While a brief description of the methodology is given, the chapter also presents a number of examples of studies where those measurements have been incorporated. The utility of chemical measurements to differentiate fresh from frozen product is also presented.
