Impact of Processing Technology on Food Quality and Safety
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Quality and Safety".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 November 2025) | Viewed by 2945
Special Issue Editors
Interests: food technology; food chemistry; oxidation kinetics; antioxidant reactivity; waste valorization; high-pressure microfluidization
Interests: green technologies; supercritical fluid technologies; bioactive compounds; antioxidants; lipid oxidation; food waste recovery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As global demand for safe, nutritious, and minimally processed foods continues to rise, advanced processing technologies are critical to balancing quality, safety, and sustainability. This Special Issue provides a holistic examination of cutting-edge food processing methods—including high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, cold plasma, ohmic heating, supercritical CO2 extraction, and microfluidization—and their impacts on food quality, safety, and functionality. We aim to bridge gaps in understanding how these technologies alter food microstructure, nutrient retention, oxidative stability, and microbial safety while addressing scalability, energy efficiency, and industrial adoption challenges.
Submissions are encouraged to explore structure–function relationships (e.g., how processing modifies rheology, texture, and sensory perception) and leverage interdisciplinary tools such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), machine learning, and real-time chromatographic monitoring for process optimization. Contributions addressing sustainable practices (e.g., life-cycle assessment, by-product valorization, waste-to-resource strategies) and innovations in active/intelligent packaging (e.g., sensors, freshness indicators) are also welcome.
Potential Topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Advanced Processing Technologies
- Non-thermal techniques (cold plasma, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound).
- Supercritical CO2 extraction and microfluidization for bioactive recovery and stability.
- Ohmic heating and high-pressure processing for microbial safety.
- Quality, Safety, and Functionality
- Bioactive retention and transformation.
- Oxidative stability: Mitigation of lipid oxidation via encapsulation, antioxidants, or process parameter optimization.
- Microbial inactivation: Mechanisms of pathogen/spoilage organism reduction using novel technologies.
- Sustainability and Innovation
- Sustainable processing: Energy efficiency, life-cycle assessment, and valorization of food by-products.
- Smart packaging systems: Sensors, freshness indicators, and materials that interact with food to extend shelf life.
- AI and modeling: Machine learning, CFD, and kinetic models for predictive process design and quality control.
- Industrial Applications
- Scaling challenges for non-thermal technologies.
- Consumer acceptance of processed foods with retained natural attributes.
Dr. Rajat Suhag
Dr. Giovanna Ferrentino
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- non-thermal processing
- oxidative stability mechanisms
- bioactive retention and bioaccessibility
- supercritical CO2 extraction
- microbial inactivation kinetics
- machine learning in food processing
- active packaging sensors
- sustainable food valorization
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