This is the second major food encyclopedia to be published in less than a year. The four-volume
Encyclopedia of Food Science and Technology (
EFST) was published by Wiley in 1992. It has 600 contributors and 380 articles and is priced at $495. As might be expected from the title,
EFST concentrates more on the processing technology and engineering of food. The
Encyclopedia of Food Science, Food Technology, and Nutrition (
EFSFTN) is in eight volumes with 1,000 contributors and more than 1,000 articles. Both sets are written for the professional or student in the field, but many of the articles in each may be of interest to general readers.
The editors of EFSFTN are all from the U.K.; the majority of the editorial and advisory boards are from the Commonwealth, the U.S. and other European countries. The contributors are also from the Commonwealth and Europe, with less than 25 percent from the U.S.
The British slant is evident in many of the articles. As examples, the article Rationing of Food mentions only the experience of the British in World War II; Retailing of Food is only about the U.K.; Beers, Ales, and Stout mentions only British or European drinks; and Biscuits, Cookies, and Crackers distinguishes between the American and British biscuit but then calls cookies biscuits.
The preface describes the encyclopedia as providing "the most comprehensive coverage possible of all aspects of the science of food." It notes that the initial stages of food production are given less coverage than food technology and nutrition. The editors decided to include nutrition since the processing, storage, and cooking of food all impact on the health of the individual.
The objectives of the preface are achieved through well-planned and -written articles, such as the entry Almond, which covers growing, harvesting, marketing, chemical composition, and products from almonds such as marzipan. The article concludes with an eight-item bibliography that includes Almond Production Manual, published by the University of California in 1993.
The variety of topics is vast, including cleaning procedures in factories, fruits of tropical climates, agitation and agitator design, mycotoxins, a complete list and description of liqueurs of the world, and entries for all types of food from buckwheat to buffalo. In addition to colorplates are some black-and-white photographs and numerous tables and graphs, all of which add to the understanding of the text.
Access to the encyclopedia is through the index volume, see and see also references in the text, and a detailed table of contents in each volume, which is also reprinted in the index volume. The index is complete but uses continuous pagination without the designation of volume numbers. At the bottom of each index page is a runner giving the pagination for the volumes. The spine of each volume has the inclusive letters but not the pagination. The index volume also has a directory of the referees and lists the contributors with their affiliation but not the subject of the entries they wrote.
Although this is definitely a resource for professionals, many of the articles would be of interest to the layman. The entry Snack Food, written by a professor in India, mentions that the oldest snack in the world is the pretzel. The article on the nutritional requirements and problems of children states that in North America obesity affects 25 percent of the population while in Finland 3 percent are affected.
This is a recommended title for academic libraries that support programs in agriculture, home economics, and the hospitality industry, and large public libraries. Libraries that have purchased EFST will need to decide if the additional nutrition focus justifies some duplication.
Review
"The present work must now be considered the definitive encyclopedia in the field...There are several features that makes this encyclopedia easy to use. There is generous use of see references in the body of the encyclopedia...Another helpful feature is that in the long, segmented articles, bibliographies appear after the appropriate segment, instead of at the end...The level of detail is exceptional."
--JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & FOOD INFORMATION
"With almost 5000 pages oftext it is hard not to find what you want in this absolutely brilliant encyclopedia...None can compare with the wealth of information provided here...The encyclopedia is likely to be a valuable addition to any library."
--BNF NUTRITION BULLETIN
"Easy to find one's way around, meticulously organized, and written from a truly international perspective."
--TECNICA MOLITORIA
"An inspection of volume one...confirms that this encyclopaedia offers what it promises making it a very important source of information in its field...When asked for their opinion, food science students of our university were very impressed by the broad coverage, the clarity and readability of the texts and would like to see this encyclopaedia in the department library.It would also be an excellent technical aid and a quick and reliable source of information for the food industry particularly for managers, lawyers, or marketeers with limited background in food and nutrition science, for government bodies dealing with food and nutrition policies, consultants to the food and processing industry, as well as for dailies, magazines, and broadcasting companies covering food and nutrition items."
--A.G.J. VORAGEN, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands, inINTERNATIONAL FOOD INGREDIENTS
