THE ultimate objectives of the food analyst and the variety of techniques employed to achieve them make this branch of chemistry particularly fascinating. The analytical methods of the food chemist may be applied in the development and enforcement of standards of identity, purity, or value; in problems of decomposition or spoilage under either normal or abnormal storage conditions; in studies designed to improve or control the quality of natural or processed foods; or in the determination of the nutritive value of foods for scientific, dietary, or labeling purposes. Interest in many of these objectives stems directly or indirectly from our federal and state food laws which are probably '