This excellent book has emerged from an

extensive programme of research funded by

the European Union entitled The preserva-
tion of quality and safety in frozen foods
throughout the distribution chain. The pro-
ject ran for 3 years from September 1996
and involved eleven countries and 30
research centres. The researchers involved
met about twice a year to discuss scientic
and technical developments and their work,
but the editor, who was also the project co-
ordinator, has wisely avoided making this
text a summary of the EU research although
in some areas it would have been desirable
to refer to the outcome of some pro-
grammes because the results are of interest
and valuable to the promotion of frozen
foods. However, the book does bring toge-
ther state-of-the-art knowledge by authors
who are expert in their elds, and in so
doing it delivers a wealth of information on
the dierent aspects of the production of
raw materials and their pre-freezing treat-
ments, equipment for and methods of
freezing, and packaging, storage and retail
display of frozen foods. In addition, there are
more fundamental chapters on micro-
biological safety and the freezing process,
together with future trends.
Most of the authors enthuse about their
subject and are obviously convinced that
freezing is the best common method of
preserving foods; as indeed it is for long
term preservation. Unlike many scientic
and technical works, the book is very easy
to read. This is all the more impressive
because many authors have not written
their chapters in their native language. This
speaks highly for the authors or editor, per-
haps both, and the outcome is an enjoyable
and informative text.
The rst technical chapter is a compre-
hensive survey on microbiological safety in
frozen foods with sections on the response
of relevant micro-organisms to freezing, the
use of HACCP as a means of assessing the
risks involved, techniques for micro-
biological analysis and sampling procedures.
There are comments on new developments
and suggestions that more work needs to be
done on the process of thawing and the
techniques involved. A section on future
developments and new trends is not only
commendable but a valuable inclusion. It is
in sections such as these where many
authors suggest where the gaps in knowl-
edge lie, where more research needs to be
undertaken and where future developments
are likely to take place.
This chapter is then followed by a series
of four chapters dealing with dierent raw
materials for freezing and the pre-treat-
ments they receive. The chapter on raw
fruits and vegetables for freezing has a
southern European emphasis and some of
the terms used are not always familiar. For
example, does sum of thermic tempera-
tures mean accumulated heat units, and
cirri mean tendrils? There is no mention of
the tenderometer to measure pea maturity
and although this is a rather inaccurate
instrument, it is of historical interest and still
widely used. Despite these minor com-
ments, this is a good summary chapter with
much valuable information. Chapter 4 deals
with the pre-treatment of fruit and vege-
tables but in reality the authors spend most
of their time discussing dehydration. Whilst
this is of some interest to freezers, the
importance of blanching is given scant
attention. This is disappointing because
much could have been said about this pro-
cedure, such as which enzymes are impor-
tant and why, and the techniques by which
they can be measured. Meat and poultry is
dealt with relatively briey but the salient
points are present and there is a good list of
references through which the reader can
obtain fuller information on subjects of
interest. Fish is dealt with comprehensively,
although reference to the EU project work
in Norway would have been of interest here
because this showed that cod llets thawed
from sh stored frozen at 20

C had better
quality than those stored at 30

C. This
was due to the dierent degradation path-
ways for the micro-organisms present and is
contrary to expectation.
Chapter 7 is a more fundamental one
dealing with ice formation, nucleation and
crystallization, and the important practical
aspects which inuence the quality of frozen
foods. Chemistry of foods is also covered
here but the subject of mobility threshold
temperatures (glass transition) is only dealt
with briey. Much work has now been done
in this relatively new area and a discussion
on its practical application to the commer-
cial frozen food industry would have been
of topical interest and value. Perhaps this
chapter would have been sited more
appropriately towards the beginning of the
book.
Chapter 8 deals with freezing of prepared
foods and is a valuable inclusion because it
considers products not covered elsewhere
in this volume, such as ready meals, bakery
products and ice cream, all very topical
subjects. The excellent summary of freezer
technology in Chapter 9 covers refrigeration
systems, refrigerants, and freezers. The sub-
ject is lengthy but is covered well and
clearly. Some mention of pellet freezing
should have been included as this technique
is used for purees such as spinach, soups
and, in smaller pellet sizes, for sauces. It is
disappointing that there is no reference
section and only two suggestions for further
reading. It is an important aspect of this
book that the reader is able to refer to more
in-depth information as is possible in most
chapters. Getting the packaging of a pro-
cessed product right in relation to a specic
food is an increasingly important part of the
manufacture of foods: Chapter 10 is an
excellent summary of this subject and
includes types of packaging, specications
and legislation. Again the author has looked
into the future and discusses active packa-
ging, edible lms, and intelligent or smart
packaging. Storage is obviously important
because all the eorts made by the manu-
facturer to produce a safe product of high
quality can be of no avail if the product is
not stored correctly. Chapter 11 deals with
cold stores and their construction, handling
of frozen foods and refrigerants.
The nal technical chapter discusses retail
display equipment and does it very com-
prehensively. The inclusion and references
to EU directives is a helpful indication of the
amount of legislation that relates to this
subject. The legislation can be accessed by
consulting the list of references. The author
also deals with new developments such as
improved air distribution and new methods
and coolants which could be used in these
units.
Because the book claims to take the
reader from the farm to the domestic free-
zer, it would have been helpful to have a
chapter on domestic freezers and include
the preparation (and abuse) of frozen foods
in the home for consumption. As it is, the
present volume seems to stop just a little
short of the complete story. Another omis-
sion is the subject of transportation and
distribution of frozen foods which is worthy
of a chapter in its own right.
0924-2244/00/$ - see front matter Copyright # 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
PI I : S0924- 2244( 01) 00047- 4
Managing Frozen Foods
Edited by Christopher J. Kennedy, Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, UK
Book Review Trends in Food Science & Technology 12 (2001) 4243
In the last chapter, future trends in frozen
foods is discussed ably by the editor and he
suggests what might be expected in the
future. It seems that frozen foods will gain in
importance in the coming years and that
they will continue to improve in quality and
be more nutritious. Ice nucleation will be
better controlled and the reader is told how
this might be achieved. Perhaps anti-freeze
proteins will be used to control ice crystal
growth. These and other aspects encourage
us to keep a watchful eye on the frozen
food industry because there are great
opportunities for continued development.
For consistency, the presentation of
references in each chapter could have been
standardized; some use superscripted num-
bers and others use authors and years in the
text. But despite this and other minor criti-
cisms, this is a rst class book covering a
great deal of information, presented in a
very readable form which should be on the
shelf of every food technologist and engi-
neer engaged in the food freezing industry.
It will also be of great value to students of
food science and technology.
David Arthey
Campden & Chorleywood Food Research
Association, Chipping Campden,
Gloucester GL55 6LD, UK
Book Review/ Trends in Food Science & Technology 12 (2001) 4243 43