Subject Research Guide
Food Science

Find Articles | Find Books | Analytical Methods | Composition Tables | Reference | Evaluating | Citing | Internet

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Top 5 Resources

Books: The CAT
Journal Articles: FSTA
Encyclopedia: Access Science
Microbiology: The Prokaryotes
Composition: USDA Database

Related Guides

Nutrition

Find Articles:

• Food Science and Technology Abstracts (FSTA) This database focuses specifically on research based food science information.
• PubMed (Medline) covers all aspects of biomedicine.
• Biological Abstracts is the premier database for all of biology. Especially strong in microbiology.
• CAB Abstracts is an agriculture database which includes dairy science and nutrition information.
• Agricola Articles a core agriculture database that includes food information.
• Compendex contains food engineering information
• SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts) Covers chemical information from 1907 forward. Software must be downloaded in order to use the database.
• Dissertations & Theses includes dissertations from most U.S. institutions.
• Web of Science search for new articles which cite an older article by using the "cited ref" search mode.

Don't forget: Try These First if you want general popular interest magazines and newspapers or pro and con debate information.

Article Search Tips: Finding the best articles on your topic requires a number of steps:

• Select a database from the list above.
• Enter and combine terms appropriate to your topic
• Look at the best references you retrieve and determine the subject terms used for those articles. Then revise your search using these new terms.
• Write down or print off all pertinent information (called the 'citation') including the journal title, volume, date, and page numbers.
• Explore other databases and subject terms (which vary between databases) for more information.

Get the full text: Once you find the citation in a database, try the button to see if Penn State has the electronic or print version of the article you neeed. If the electronic version is available, it will appear as the first link on the Get it! menu. If the article is not available electronically, click on The CAT link to automatically search our catalog and see if Penn State has a print copy. If no other copy is available, you can use the ILLiad link to request it from another library.

Already have a citation? Use Citation Linker to see if Penn State has it online or in print!

Find Books:

Use The CAT for finding books owned by Penn State.

CAT Search Tips: The CAT is the list of what is owned by Penn State Libraries. Go to the Browse function if you are looking for a specific title or author (type last name first). Go to the Keyword function and combine terms to search on a topic then use the subject headings from relevant books for additional search terms. Write down the call number and location for any book you want. For more detailed searching information go to the Quick Guide to the CAT.

Suggested CAT Search Terms: Search for specific products (i.e. milk or cereal), processes (i.e. drying or fermentation), or ingredients (i.e. aspartame or lecithin).

Call Numbers: At University Park, most materials in the life sciences are located on the 4th floor of Paterno Library. Some food science material is located on the 3rd floor of Paterno. General call numbers and subject areas are:

• QP – Physiology (UP location: 4th floor Paterno)
• TP – Chemical Technology (UP location: 3rd floor Paterno)
• TX – Food Science (UP location: 3rd floor Paterno)

Books Elsewhere: WorldCat

Libraries Borrowing Policies: Once you have the books, check them out at the nearest lending desk or self check-out station. Loan periods are usually four weeks but books can be recalled for another user, so respond promptly to library notices. For more information see the University Libraries Lending Code.

Analytical Methods

The following resources are useful for determining laboratory analytical methods:

• Official methods of analysis. Association of Official Analytical Chemists.
• Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater.
• Official methods and recommended practices of the American Oil Chemists' Society.
• Standard methods for the examination of dairy products.
• Approved methods of the American Association of Cereal Chemists.

Food Composition Tables

Use these resources for determining the nutritive value of specific foods:

• USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18
• Bowes and Church's food values of portions commonly used.
• Other Books on Food Composition owned by Penn State

Other Reference Material

For general information on specific foodborne pathogens, check The Prokaryotes or the Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook, AKA the Bad Bug Book, a publication of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition.

Specific food science information is in many printed Encyclopaedias of food science available at Penn State. Or try the online Access Science (McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology) database.

Technical terms may be found in printed Dictionaries of food science.

International food standards are available from Codex alimentarius.

U.S. Food regulations are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (sections 7 - agriculture and section 21 - food and drugs) and the Federal Register.

Search for patent information through the Patents and Trademarks Research Guide provided by the Penn State Physical And Mathematical Sciences Library.

U.S.Food Consumption and expenditure statistics are available from the ERS (Economic Research Service of the USDA.

The FAOSTAT is a resource provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization. It has international statistics on food production and consumption.

Evaluating Resources for Content

To evaluate print sources and web sites, you should ask a series of questions concerning the source’s currency, authority, validity, intended audience and bias. See this How to Evaluate Information site for details.

Citing Your Sources

When using information from another source you must give credit to the original author or you are plagiarizing. You give credit by citing the source. Make sure your citation contains everything you would need to backtrack and find the information again. It is best to pick one citation style and be consistent. In the Food Sciences, use the Institute of Food Technologists style listed in the Reference Format section of their Manuscript Requirements.

Plagiarism, whether you copy a paragraph from a book or cut and paste someone else's words from an e-mail, is a violation of Penn State's academic integrity policy. See this Statement on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty.

Internet Resources

You can look for Food Information on the Internet by using one of the 'guides' listed below, or by using an Internet Search Engine like Google. Usually the search engines are most appropriate when you have a narrow, specific information need. If you are just looking for information in a general topic area, a subject guide is most appropriate.

The Index of Food and Nutrition Internet Resources Compiled by the Food and Nutrition Information Center is a long searchable listing of Internet food resources, categorized by broad subjects.

The University of Kentucky has a smaller, but more easily navigated list of sites in the food sciences.

The Institute of Food Technologists is an information resource about the organization.

The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences also keeps a Food Science Information for Consumers directory.

The Food Resource, hosted by Oregon State University, is an attempt to link as much food-related information as possible. Companies, associations, recipes, news groups and more!

For nutrition information, try the Arbor Nutrition Guide.