Reference Works

Your library or information centre should have a good collection of reference works. These are fee-based products and sometimes quite expensive. Some are available online but print still prevails as the main medium. It is worth familarising yourself with what your library has available before you invest in a set yourself.

Reference works are particularly useful if you want to get a brief overview of a subject area or to look up something specific. Encyclopedias, for instance, are particularly useful for their summaries and lists of references. Other examples are:

• The Grocer Directory of Manufacturers and Suppliers (Annual UK and European editions: William Reed Publishing)
• CRC handbook of chemistry and physics (Properties of organic and inorganic compounds)
• Official methods of analysis of AOAC International (Validated Chemical and microbiological analytical methods)
• Dictionary of Food Science and Technology (Blackwell Publishing 2005)
• The Composition of Foods series (UK food composition tables published by the FSA)
• Codex Alimentarius (Food Standards and guidelines FAO/WHO)
• IngrID database (ingredient & ingredient supplier information)

In addition there are factual databases which contain figures such as melting, boiling and freezing points of various substances, conversion tables and food composition data. Good examples that can be found on the Internet include

• http://www.nal.usda.gov/infoctr.shtml
• http://www.fao.org/infoods/directory_en.stm