Category 3 Animal By-Products: Implications for Food and Feed Safety and Quality Aspects in Their Reuse for Feed Production
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Quality and Safety".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 21
Special Issue Editors
Interests: risk analysis; food microbiology; food and feed safety
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: food inspection; food microbiology; food safety
Interests: food quality; physico-chemical analysis; sensory analysis
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The sustainable management and valorization of animal by-products (ABPs) represent a crucial challenge for the modern food chain. Beyond their traditional perception, Category 3 ABPs can serve as valuable resources for feed production, contributing to circular economy principles and reducing environmental impact. However, their reuse raises significant concerns regarding food and feed safety, traceability, and quality assurance.
This Special Issue aims to collect innovative research, reviews, and case studies addressing the microbiological, chemical-toxicological, and nutritional quality characterization of Category 3 ABPs, as well as technological solutions ensuring their safe use and reintroduction into the feed chain. The reuse of such a matrix, while promoting circularity and sustainability, may also pose potential risks to animal, human, and environmental health. On the one hand, potential microbiological, chemical, and toxicological concerns for both humans and animals may occur when animal by-products and products for human consumption originate from the same animals, as contamination in one can reflect that of the other.
On the other hand, the microbiological risks associated with raw meat-based diets (RMBDs) for dogs and cats deserve special attention, as these products can act as potential vehicles for the environmental spread and spillover of zoonotic pathogens, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and parasites to livestock and humans.
Contributions focusing on regulatory frameworks, One Health perspectives, and novel valorization strategies are particularly welcome. By integrating scientific, technological, and policy approaches, this Special Issue seeks to highlight how the responsible use of Category 3 ABPs can promote both sustainability and resilience within the food system.
Dr. Marta Castrica
Prof. Dr. Valerio Giaccone
Dr. Sebastiana Failla
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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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
- category 3 ABPs
- food and feed safety
- traceability
- one health
- risk analysis
- circular economy
- sustainability of the food and feed chain
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