Procedures or techniques used to keep food from spoiling.

Any substances taken in by the body that provide nourishment.

The production and movement of food items from point of origin to use or consumption.

Use of written, printed, or graphic materials upon or accompanying a food or its container or wrapper. The concept includes ingredients, NUTRITIONAL VALUE, directions, warnings, and other relevant information.

The selection of one food over another.

Measurement and evaluation of the components of substances to be taken as FOOD.

Acquired or learned food preferences.

The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in food and food products. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms: the presence of various non-pathogenic bacteria and fungi in cheeses and wines, for example, is included in this concept.

The industry concerned with processing, preparing, preserving, distributing, and serving of foods and beverages.

Gastrointestinal disturbances, skin eruptions, or shock due to allergic reactions to allergens in food.

The presence in food of harmful, unpalatable, or otherwise objectionable foreign substances, e.g. chemicals, microorganisms or diluents, before, during, or after processing or storage.

A non-medical term defined by the lay public as a food that has little or no preservatives, which has not undergone major processing, enrichment or refinement and which may be grown without pesticides. (from Segen, The Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

Any aspect of the operations in the preparation, processing, transport, storage, packaging, wrapping, exposure for sale, service, or delivery of food.

Activities involved in ensuring the safety of FOOD including avoidance of bacterial and other contamination.

A portion of the food eaten for the day, usually at regular occasions during the day.

Set of instructions about how to prepare food for eating using specific instructions.

The ability to detect chemicals through gustatory receptors in the mouth, including those on the TONGUE; the PALATE; the PHARYNX; and the EPIGLOTTIS.

Small sensory organs which contain gustatory receptor cells, basal cells, and supporting cells. Taste buds in humans are found in the epithelia of the tongue, palate, and pharynx. They are innervated by the CHORDA TYMPANI NERVE (a branch of the facial nerve) and the GLOSSOPHARYNGEAL NERVE.

Method of tissue preparation in which the tissue specimen is frozen and then dehydrated at low temperature in a high vacuum. This method is also used for dehydrating pharmaceutical and food products.

The process by which the nature and meaning of gustatory stimuli are recognized and interpreted by the brain. The four basic classes of taste perception are salty, sweet, bitter, and sour.

Conditions characterized by an alteration in gustatory function or perception. Taste disorders are frequently associated with OLFACTION DISORDERS. Additional potential etiologies include METABOLIC DISEASES; DRUG TOXICITY; and taste pathway disorders (e.g., TASTE BUD diseases; FACIAL NERVE DISEASES; GLOSSOPHARYNGEAL NERVE DISEASES; and BRAIN STEM diseases).

Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal.

A food group comprised of EDIBLE PLANTS or their parts.

Substances capable of inhibiting, retarding or arresting the process of fermentation, acidification or other deterioration of foods.

The pressure due to the weight of fluid.

The fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds.

Fermented juice of fresh grapes or of other fruit or plant products used as a beverage.

A group of disorders characterized by physiological and psychological disturbances in appetite or food intake.

Travel by a group of physicians for the purpose of making a special study or undertaking a special project of short-term duration.

Containers, packaging, and packaging materials for processed and raw foods and beverages. It includes packaging intended to be used for storage and also used for preparation of foods such as microwave food containers versus COOKING AND EATING UTENSILS. Packaging materials may be intended for food contact or designated non-contact, for example, shipping containers. FOOD LABELING is also available.

The visually perceived property of objects created by absorption or reflection of specific wavelengths of light.

Polymeric materials (usually organic) of large molecular weight which can be shaped by flow. Plastic usually refers to the final product with fillers, plasticizers, pigments, and stabilizers included (versus the resin, the homogeneous polymeric starting material). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Factors associated with the definitive onset of a disease, illness, accident, behavioral response, or course of action. Usually one factor is more important or more obviously recognizable than others, if several are involved, and one may often be regarded as "necessary". Examples include exposure to specific disease; amount or level of an infectious organism, drug, or noxious agent, etc.

A province of Canada lying between the provinces of Manitoba and Quebec. Its capital is Toronto. It takes its name from Lake Ontario which is said to represent the Iroquois oniatariio, beautiful lake. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p892 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p391)

Exploitation through misrepresentation of the facts or concealment of the purposes of the exploiter.

Concept referring to the standardized fees for services rendered by health care providers, e.g., laboratories and physicians, and reimbursement for those services under Medicare Part B. It includes acceptance by the physician.

The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)