With increasing interest in foods such as yoghurt with probiotics for their health benefits in the prevention of illness and chronic conditions, functional foods and nutraceuticals have become a growth industry. What consumers may not realize is that biotechnology is involved in the development of many of these food products. As Bagchi (pharmaceutical sciences, U. of Houston, Texas) explains, biology-based technologies, e.g., fermentation, have long been used to produce high-quality, high-yield foods. In 30 chapters, international scientists in the food, biotechnology, and related fields review recent food science-related advances in biotechnology, the impact of genetic modification on functional foods, food manufacturing technology, quality assurance, health claim regulatory/legal issues, and future directions for safe, socially-acceptable, sustainable biotechnology-enhanced foods. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)