Texture analyzers for food quality evaluation

Textural parameters are very important to evaluate and control the quality of agricultural products and processed foods. Compared with conventional sensory evaluation, the instrumental evaluation method is able to characterize the many textural features of foods with strong reliability and high rapidity. This chapter first gives a brief introduction to the basic principles and concepts of using texture analyzers to determine the textural properties of foods. It then describes the primary operating principles of food texture analyzers as well as the characteristics and applications of different probes. In addition, different destructive force/deformation techniques and various nondestructive methods for measuring the texture of foods are introduced and their advantages and disadvantages are simultaneously discussed. Finally, the textural properties of different foods and the applications of texture analyzers in aquatic products, animal foods, vegetables and fruits, bakery products, crisps, snacks, and extruded cereals are also discussed.