ABSTRACT
Eating habits of humans have changed a lot in the past three to four decades with increased consumption of processed foods driven by industrialization, adoption of western culture, and other social factors (Cordain et al. 2005). Prior to industrialization, food was cooked and consumed at small scale at one’s own kitchen, but with the advent of modern machinery, food processing has taken a giant leap and plays a major role in human food consumption. Food processing involves various operations/steps to convert raw food materials from farm to processed food in plate. Food processing encompasses unit operations such as cleaning, sorting, blanching, thermal treatment, fermentation, curing, packaging, and other processes (van Boekel et al. 2010). Novel processing methods such as irradiation (Nayak et al. 2006), high-pressure processing (Rastogi et al. 2007), infrared processing (Rastogi 2012), and UV treatment (Rastogi 2011) were developed and adopted for improving the current processing techniques to produce safe food. A gamut of additives ranging from coloring agents, acidity regulators, our enhancers, and others are added to food products to enhance their sensory and nutritional attributes (Saltmarsh and Barlow 2013). Packaging is an important part of food processing industry, which is essential for storing and transporting processed foods for long duration and distant places without compromising the quality of food products (Robertson 2012). Different processes make food processing a highly complex process in the present day to ensure safe and nutritious food to consumers. During food processing operations, certain undesired compounds are formed as by-products, which are categorized as food contaminants. There are numerous such compounds formed in various processes mainly due to ingredients, processing conditions, packaging, etc. They affect the food quality and also have an impact on consumers’ health by causing ill effects. From the beginning of the twenty-rst century, major food processing contaminants are identied, and possible mitigation strategies are developed to reduce or remove the contaminants (Lineback et al. 2012; Stadler et al. 2002). In this chapter, major food contaminants are discussed along with the mechanism of formation and mitigation strategies (Table 21.1).
