Nutritional and Toxicological Aspects of the Chemical Changes of Food Components and Nutrients During Drying

Abstract

Evolutions of the moisture content and temperature that take place during drying typically lead to various changes of foods, which may or may not be desirable. Understanding of such changes is of importance for an effective design and operation of a drying process to yield dried products of desirable quality. In this chapter, some important changes that take place during drying of foods are reviewed. These include nutritional changes of various classes of foods, including fruits and vegetables, meat and seafood products, as well as grains and legumes; the changes are discussed in terms of such important constituents as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamins, pigments, flavor and aroma compounds, as well as amino acids and lipids. Toxicological changes are also discussed in terms of the ability of drying to help reduce antinutritional factors, mycotoxins, and pesticide residues in selected foods undergoing drying.