Category: F

A method of examining the secretion of gastric juices; the stomach contents are sampled at intervals via a stomach tube after a test meal of gruel. Extended examination of the stomach contents. First the residual contents are removed and then the test meal is given. After the meal, assessments of gastric emptying, gastric acidity, pancreatic…

The deliberate addition of specific nutrients to foods as a means of providing the population with an increased level of intake. The addition of one or more nutrients to a food product in amounts so that the total amount will be larger than that contained in the natural food of its class. The FDA has…

Composed of simple substances that require little digestion, are readily absorbed, and leave a minimum residue in the intestine: glucose, amino acids or peptides, mono- and diacylglycerols rather than starch, proteins, and fats.  

A test for folic acid nutritional status, based on excretion of formiminoglutamic acid (FIGLU), a metabolite of the amino acid histidine, which is normally metabolised by a folic acid-dependent enzyme. An intermediate product in histidine metabolism; elevated in the urine of patients with deficiency of vitamin B12 or folates.  

Processed foods containing ingredients that aid specific bodily functions, as well as being nutritious (functional foods).  

The application of science and technology to the treatment, processing, preservation and distribution of foods. Hence the term food technologist.  

Permanent advisory body to UK Parliament through Health Ministers, established in 2000 to protect the public’s health and consumer interests in relation to food; website http://www.food.gov.uk. An independent agency set up by the UK government with the aim of protecting consumers interests in every aspect of food safety and nutrition. The agency advises ministers and…

When all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Food security requires more than just adequate food availability; it also is a matter of access to the food that is available and appropriate…

The study of the basic chemical, physical, biochemical, and biophysical properties of foods and their constituents, and of changes that these may undergo during handling, preservation, processing, storage, distribution, and preparation for consumption.  

A way of showing a healthy diet graphically, by grouping foods and the amounts of each group that should be eaten each day, based on nutritional recommendations. Established by the US Department of Agriculture in 1993, the pyramid replaces the traditional reliance on the four food groups concept long advocated by nutritionists. It emphasizes a…