Influence of Physical Processing Technology on Physicochemical Properties and Active Components of Agro-Products

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2025) | Viewed by 2198

Special Issue Editors

1. School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
2. Engineering Research Center of Bio-Process of Ministry of Education, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
Interests: food processing; functional foods; food safety; analytical methods development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Tea & Food Science, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
Interests: biological functions and transportation regulation of milk protein; peptide and liposoluble substance; food safety detection

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The physical processing of agro-products plays a crucial role in determining their physicochemical properties and the retention of active components. Conventional techniques often involve high temperatures that can degrade nutrients and affect flavor, color, and texture. To address these challenges, innovative technologies, such as ultra-high pressure, ultrasound technology, pulsed electric fields, cold plasma, radio frequency, and electron beam, have emerged as promising alternatives. This Special Issue aims to provide an in-depth exploration of the influence of physical processing technology on the physicochemical properties and active components of agro-products, highlighting recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects in this field.

We will delve into the fundamentals of physical processing technologies, including their principles, mechanisms, equipment, and process parameters. We will also examine their applications across various food categories, including meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, seafood, cereals, various freshwater aquatic products, algae products, edible fungi, by-products of the food processing industry, and various new resource foods, focusing on their impacts on microbial inactivation, enzyme inhibition, texture enhancement, shelf-life extension, and nutrient preservation. Additionally, we will explore the combination of different food processing techniques to achieve synergistic or complementary effects on food quality and safety.

This issue will serve as a platform for leading experts, researchers, and practitioners from both academia and industry agencies to share their insights, experiences, and knowledge in this rapidly evolving domain. By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, we aim to advance the understanding and application of physical processing technologies in enhancing the quality, safety, and sustainability of agro-products.

We believe that this Special Issue will be a valuable resource for professionals working in the field of food science and technology, as well as those interested in the broader implications of physical processing on the nutritional and sensory attributes of agro-products. We look forward to your contributions and participation in this important endeavor.

Dr. Zeyu Wu
Prof. Dr. Xiuheng Xue
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • physical processing technology
  • ultra-high pressure
  • ultrasound
  • pulsed electric fields
  • cold plasma
  • radio frequency
  • food safety
  • food quality
  • food texture
  • functional foods
  • microbial inactivation
  • enzyme inhibition
  • shelf-life extension

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 4542 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Rice Bran Soluble Dietary Fiber Yield Through Sequential Ultrasound–Xylanase Treatment
by Yanting Lin, Siling Zhang, Yifei Huang, Shuyuan Yang, An Zhou, Wencheng Zhang and Zeyu Wu
Foods 2025, 14(3), 388; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14030388 - 24 Jan 2025
Viewed by 904
Abstract
The main aim of this study was to enhance the content of soluble dietary fiber (SDF) derived from rice bran (RB) through various treatments, including physical methods (ultrasound and alternating magnetic field (AMF)) and enzymatic approaches (cellulase and xylanase), applied individually or in [...] Read more.
The main aim of this study was to enhance the content of soluble dietary fiber (SDF) derived from rice bran (RB) through various treatments, including physical methods (ultrasound and alternating magnetic field (AMF)) and enzymatic approaches (cellulase and xylanase), applied individually or in combination. The results revealed that AMF treatment was the most effective single modification technique for increasing SDF yield, followed by treatments with xylanase, cellulase, and ultrasound. Notably, among the combined approaches, the sequential ultrasound–xylanase treatment (U-X) demonstrated the highest potential for enhancing SDF yield. Further optimization experiments revealed that under the conditions of a xylanase addition of 4.3 mg/g sample, a material-to-liquid ratio of 50 mL/g, and an ultrasonic power of 72 W, the yield of U-X-SDF significantly increased from 1.03% to 18.4%. Compared to unmodified samples, the modified SDF groups exhibited marked enhancements in water holding capacity (42.5–86.4%) and water solubility (21.0–30.6%), while the unmodified SDF displayed superior oil holding capacity than the modified groups. In summary, the sequential ultrasound–xylanase treatment not only improves the SDF yield but also enhances the functional properties of RB-derived SDF, positioning it as a valuable health-promoting food additive with potential benefits for both laboratory and industrial food applications. The optimized treatment process can contribute to the development of new functional food ingredients from RB, thereby promoting health and wellness in consumers. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 7304 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Characteristics of Ball-Milled Blueberry Peel Particles and Their Application in Ice Cream
by Li-Hua Pan, Jia-Hui Lin, Mei-Jia Li, Lei Cao, Xiao-Yu Liu, Yuan-Yuan Deng, Shui-Zhong Luo and Zhi Zheng
Foods 2024, 13(22), 3660; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13223660 - 17 Nov 2024
Viewed by 940
Abstract
Ice cream is popular but contains high amounts of saturated fats and few health-promoting ingredients. In the presence of xanthan gum (0.25%), blueberry peel particles prepared through ball-milling treatment (BMPs) were used to prepare ice cream containing camellia oil as a fat replacer. [...] Read more.
Ice cream is popular but contains high amounts of saturated fats and few health-promoting ingredients. In the presence of xanthan gum (0.25%), blueberry peel particles prepared through ball-milling treatment (BMPs) were used to prepare ice cream containing camellia oil as a fat replacer. The BMPs possessed smaller particle sizes, larger contact angles, and higher contents of anthocyanin aglycone compared with commonly milled blueberry peel particles. BMPs with the largest contact angle (66.30°) were obtained by ball-milling the blueberry peel at 15 Hz for 6 h (BMP15Hz6h). The ice cream mixes were depicted as linear viscoelastic gel-like solids, and their apparent viscosity, G′ and G′, increased with the increase in the BMP15Hz6h concentration. Ice cream with strong antioxidant activity and good freeze–thaw stability was acceptable and desirable in the presence of 0.5% BMP15Hz6h. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop