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Synthetic food
Fd Cosmet. Toxicol. Vol. 9, pp. 697-701. Pergamon Press 1971. Printed in Great Britain
BOOK REVIEWS Synthetic Food. By M. Pyke. John Murray, London, 1970. pp. 145. £2.25. This book is one of a number of publications written by Dr. Pyke on various aspects of food science and technology. Dealing on this occasion with synthetic food, he indicates the directions in which food manufacture may be forced to divert if current population trends continue. It is emphasized throughout the book that the major problems in this field are not the actual synthesis itself but economics and consumer acceptability. The technical knowledge already exists to produce most food components, including fat, protein, carbohydrate and vitamins: indeed a group of men in the USA have already survived for 19 weeks on a totally synthetic diet. However, the synthesized products are usually very expensive and not in the form normally expected of the corresponding natural product. Each of the early chapters of this book deals with a different food constituent. Clearly those chapters concerned with the amino acids and vitamins, which are already prepared on an industrial scale to supplement deficient diets, are the most comprehensive, but the manufacturing methods, costs and likely future trends are discussed carefully in every chapter. The later chapters are devoted to a consideration of the flavour, colour and texture of synthetic foods and to the synthetic "non-foods" used in dietetic products. From BIBRA's point of view, comments on the safety-in-use of the synthetic foods are somewhat sparse in the text and even less common in the index. Of the major food components, only synthetic fats are discussed from a toxicological angle. Artificial fiavourings and colourings receive a fuller treatment, with a fairly detailed discussion on monosodium glutamate, cyclamate, coumarin and the coal-tar dyes. It is perhaps unfortunate that Dr. Pyke has brought benzo[a]pyrene so much into the discussion on food colourings, since its well-known carcinogenicity does not seem particularly relevant in this context. However, in general, the book represents a very readable and extremely interesting account of a new and expanding field. Dr. Pyke has once again produced a book that will appeal not only to those working in food science but also to many laymen.
Essays in Toxicology. Vol. 2. Edited by F. R. Blood. Academic Press, New York, 1970. pp. xi @ 218. $9.00. This volume of Essays in Toxicology presents three contributions and lives up to the expectations engendered by the first volume (Cited in F.C.T. 1970, 8, 543). The first essay, on fungal toxins, occupies more than half of the book. This is a subject worthy of one or more volumes in its own right, but the authors have gallantly attempted a concise, though still readable, review, with a bibliography running to more than 600 references. This essay is of value both as a synopsis of the subject and as a point of first reference for those seeking to track down the literature on some particular aspect of fungal toxins. Naturally, aflatoxins claim the most attention, though the authors have not shirked 697
BOOK REVIEWS Synthetic Food. By M. Pyke. John Murray, London, 1970. pp. 145. £2.25. This book is one of a number of publications written by Dr. Pyke on various aspects of food science and technology. Dealing on this occasion with synthetic food, he indicates the directions in which food manufacture may be forced to divert if current population trends continue. It is emphasized throughout the book that the major problems in this field are not the actual synthesis itself but economics and consumer acceptability. The technical knowledge already exists to produce most food components, including fat, protein, carbohydrate and vitamins: indeed a group of men in the USA have already survived for 19 weeks on a totally synthetic diet. However, the synthesized products are usually very expensive and not in the form normally expected of the corresponding natural product. Each of the early chapters of this book deals with a different food constituent. Clearly those chapters concerned with the amino acids and vitamins, which are already prepared on an industrial scale to supplement deficient diets, are the most comprehensive, but the manufacturing methods, costs and likely future trends are discussed carefully in every chapter. The later chapters are devoted to a consideration of the flavour, colour and texture of synthetic foods and to the synthetic "non-foods" used in dietetic products. From BIBRA's point of view, comments on the safety-in-use of the synthetic foods are somewhat sparse in the text and even less common in the index. Of the major food components, only synthetic fats are discussed from a toxicological angle. Artificial fiavourings and colourings receive a fuller treatment, with a fairly detailed discussion on monosodium glutamate, cyclamate, coumarin and the coal-tar dyes. It is perhaps unfortunate that Dr. Pyke has brought benzo[a]pyrene so much into the discussion on food colourings, since its well-known carcinogenicity does not seem particularly relevant in this context. However, in general, the book represents a very readable and extremely interesting account of a new and expanding field. Dr. Pyke has once again produced a book that will appeal not only to those working in food science but also to many laymen.
Essays in Toxicology. Vol. 2. Edited by F. R. Blood. Academic Press, New York, 1970. pp. xi @ 218. $9.00. This volume of Essays in Toxicology presents three contributions and lives up to the expectations engendered by the first volume (Cited in F.C.T. 1970, 8, 543). The first essay, on fungal toxins, occupies more than half of the book. This is a subject worthy of one or more volumes in its own right, but the authors have gallantly attempted a concise, though still readable, review, with a bibliography running to more than 600 references. This essay is of value both as a synopsis of the subject and as a point of first reference for those seeking to track down the literature on some particular aspect of fungal toxins. Naturally, aflatoxins claim the most attention, though the authors have not shirked 697