potential antimicrobial agents suitable for fruit

and vegetables and discusses methods used for

testing antimicrobial activity for films and

coatings. The chapter on modified atmosphere

packaging (MAP) provides information on ap-

plication of MAP to extend the shelf-life of

fresh produce. It highlights the effects of MAP

including novel MAP gases (high oxygen, ar-

gon and nitrous oxide) on quality, microbial

growth and safety of fresh fruit and vegetables.

There is also extensive coverage of natural an-

timicrobials of plant, animal and microbial

origin used for preserving fresh fruit and vege-

tables. In addition, there are extensive discus-

sions related to risk associated with storage

and shipping of raw fruit and vegetables. The

last chapter presents combined preservation

techniques for fresh fruit.

All chapters are well referenced. Numer-

ous tables and figures present information in

an easy-to-understand way and illustrate im-

portant concepts in food safety. In the end

of many chapters sources of additional infor-

mation are listed.

Improving the Safety of Fresh Fruit and

Vegetables is an interesting and informative

book and could be used as a resource by all

persons involved in production and process-

ing of fruit and vegetables.

M. KostrzynskaFood Research Program,

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 5C9E-mail: kostrzynskam@agr.gc.ca

10.1016/j.tifs.2006.07.002

628 Book reviews / Trends in Food Science & Technology 17 (2006) 626e628

Nutraceutical Proteins and Peptides in Healthand Diseaseedited by Yoshinori Mine, Fereidoon Shahidi, Published by: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis

Group, Boca Raton, FL, 2006, ISBN 0-8247-5354-2, 668 pages, $149.95

Nutraceutical research is a rapidly expand-

ing area in food and nutritional sciences. The

book, Nutraceutical Proteins and Peptides in

Health and Disease, part of a series (Volume

4) called Nutraceutical Science and Technol-

ogy, is written by over 60 scientists from

around the world, including many experts

from Japan and Canada. The editors in partic-

ular should be commended for their large

and comprehensive compilation of current

information on bioactive peptides and pro-

teins in foods and nutraceuticals. It is timely

to find a book dedicated solely to this topic

and it is a welcome addition to the nutraceut-

ical literature.

The book is organized into six sections,

namely, (I) Nutrient Absorption System, (II)

The Body’s Defense System, (III) The Body’s

Regulating System, (IV) The Body’s Nervous

System, (V) Hypoallergenic Foods and (VI)

Modern Approaches to Bioactive Proteins

and Peptides. In total, the book is highly orga-

nized into 32 chapters, each with its own ta-

ble of contents and reference list, followed by

a complete index at the end of the book.

Overall, the book explores the beneficial

health effects of peptides, including anti-

microbial, antioxidant and hypoallergenic

properties of everyday foods such as milk,

eggs, soybeans, wheat and rice. The book

also considers modern approaches to

10.1016/j.tifs.2006.07.003

bioactive proteins and peptides and recent

developments in proteomics, a modern buzz-

word well known to researchers in the field.

Unfortunately, in a rapidly moving field

such as nutraceutical sciences, it is question-

able how long the information in the book

will stay at the cutting edge of this field.

Nonetheless, it is an appropriate addition to

the literature at this time.

From the title of the book, the reader might

expect significant information related to

novel disease prevention and treatment strat-

egies. I would suggest, however, that human

health and chronic disease is not the stron-

gest aspect of the book. In my opinion, the

strength of the book is in the sound food

science and chemistry knowledge, as well

as the attention to current methods in the

field, while the word ‘disease’ in the title

might be somewhat misleading if the reader

is looking for a clinical text. The direct trans-

lation to human health is not always obvious

throughout the book, although some health-

related topics, such as food allergy and the

emergence of many hypoallergenic foods,

are particularly well addressed. Overall, the

book is undoubtedly geared more towards

the researcher as opposed to the health pro-

fessional or clinician.

Nutraceutical Proteins and Peptides in

Health and Disease provides a wealth of

current information in the form of text, figures,

graphs, pictures and tables. While the many fig-

ures and tables may be too much for non-ex-

perts, those interested in pouring over data

and numbers will not be disappointed. Some

chapters are akin to reading scientific papers

in the field, complete with numerous abbrevia-

tions and scientific jargon and, while this may

be too heavy going for the non-expert, it will

not disappoint those seeking this level of detail.

In this regard, the book would be a useful refer-

ence for graduate students and researchers in

the fields of protein biochemistry, nutritional

and food sciences. I suspect the book would

be less useful for health professionals or clini-

cians and may be too overwhelming in its vast

amount of information for undergraduate stu-

dents. As mentioned previously, an overriding

concern may be the speed at which this book

becomes outdated, as the field of nutraceutical

research is rapidly advancing worldwide.

In summary, Nutraceutical Proteins and

Peptides in Health and Disease is a compre-

hensive book that will make a good refer-

ence for food and nutritional scientists

with an interest in proteins and peptides.

Given the rapidly expanding area of nutra-

ceuticals and functional foods among re-

searchers in both academics and the food

industry, a book dedicated to bioactive pep-

tides is a timely addition to the scientific

literature in this field.

Lindsay RobinsonDepartment of Human Health

and Nutritional Sciences,University of Guelph,Guelph, ON, Canada

E-mail: lrobinso@uoguelph.ca