Exploring New Frontiers in Total Food Quality Definition and Assessment: From Chemical to Neurochemical Properties

In order to understand the concept of “total food quality” and how it has evolved, a brief historic survey from Pasteur’s advent untill the recent rise of the globalized market is given. Nowadays, “total food quality” is clearly a concept partially objective, in the sense that it can be defined according to scientific and technological criteria, and partly subjective since consumer’s judgement, mainly based on his appraisal, may equally concurr to its definition. Food properties all contributing to “total food quality” definition and assessment, include: 1) organoleptic and sensory attributes, 2) safety, 3) nourishment, 4) functionality, 5) service and stability, 6) healthiness and 7) psychological factors. Many technological and gastronomic treatments may alter food components, e.g. fats, proteins and vitamines (the most sensitive to physico-chemical changes of the environmental condition), thus negatively affecting either one of the quality aspects of the above list. To this regard, specific analytical strategies and sensitive appliances can be utilized either to assess and defend food quality and to correctly conduct and monitor food production. Among the so-called “psychological factors”, however, there are some molecular aspects that are still elusive, although of enormously great interest.