![[Dept. of Food Science]](http://njaes.rutgers.edu/_common/images/subheads/foodscience.gif "[Dept. of Food Science]"){kind=small}
Food Chemistry applies chemical techniques, concepts and laws to determine the kinds and amounts of molecules in foods, their physical properties, and their chemical transformations during manufacture and storage. Chemistry research at Rutgers Food Science covers a broad range from the analysis of food components to measurements of the molecular mobility of amorphous solids. Research in food analysis develops novel methods for the detection of both harmful (pesticide residues) and helpful (bioactive components, or nutraceuticals, that promote health) components in food. Additional nutraceuticals research seeks to identify and understand the mode of action of a wide range of bioactive ingredients in foods. Research on the chemical transformations of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, seeks to understand how these components are affected by specific processing techniques such as extrusion. Structure/function studies seek to understand the mechanism of action of antimicrobial or ice-nucleating proteins. And spectroscopic, mechanical, and thermal techniques are used to investigate how the physical properties of amorphous, non-crystalline, solids modulate their chemical and physical properties and thus their shelf-life and stability. All of this research is concerned with understanding the fundamental mechanisms operating to influence quality of food.
