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Recent Advancements in Food Processing Technologies for Enhancing Food Quality
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Recent Advancements in Food Processing Technologies for Enhancing Food Quality

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 13 November 2026 | Viewed by 2587

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Qi Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
Interests: food and agricultural processing; food extrusion technology; numerical simulation
Dr. Min Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
Interests: food extrusion technology; drying; numerical simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With global consumers demanding higher standards for health, nutrition, safety, taste, and sustainability in food, advanced food processing technologies are gaining prominence for their ability to enhance functional properties, modify microstructure, and improve overall product quality.

The current research frontier has shifted from solely pursuing production efficiency to the precise and intelligent regulation of product quality. This requires a deep understanding of the multidimensional changes (rheological, reaction kinetics, and morphological) of raw material components (proteins, starch, dietary fiber, etc.) during food processing, including ultrasound, 3D printing, pelleting, super-grinding, drying, and extrusion. By leveraging innovative food structure modification techniques (including chemical and enzymatic modification, gelation, and fiberization), novel ingredient applications (e.g., insect protein, single-cell protein, and novel starches), and intelligent control technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and online monitoring), the on-demand design of key attributes in the final product—such as texture, nutrient retention, digestibility, flavor, and morphology—can be realized.

This Special Issue aims to gather the latest research from scientists worldwide to explore fundamental theoretical innovations and cutting-edge applications in food processing technology, with a focused discussion on quality regulation strategies to advance the scientific development and industrial upgrading of this field.

Dr. Qi Zhang
Dr. Min Wu
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

  • extrusion
  • CFD simulation
  • food quality
  • intelligent manufacturing
  • food processing technology
  • structure modification
  • nutrient retention
  • quality control
  • drying
  • printing

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 3784 KB  
Article
Comparative Evaluation of Germination Methods on the Nutritional and Sensory Profile of Coix
by Qing Hu, Nan Li, Hongxiao Liu, Chao Tang, Suyang Duan, Fengzhong Wang, Lina Liu, Sha Yang and Xuyan Dong
Foods 2026, 15(11), 1925; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15111925 - 29 May 2026
Viewed by 93
Abstract
Coix has gained significant research interest for its medicinal and nutritional value, yet its characteristic bitterness limits food applications. To enhance its utilization in the food industry, this study examined the impact of conventional water immersion, ultrasound-assisted immersion (10, 15, and 20 min) [...] Read more.
Coix has gained significant research interest for its medicinal and nutritional value, yet its characteristic bitterness limits food applications. To enhance its utilization in the food industry, this study examined the impact of conventional water immersion, ultrasound-assisted immersion (10, 15, and 20 min) and heat-treated immersion (40, 50, and 60 °C) on the nutritional profile and taste properties of Coix. Germinated Coix showed reduced starch, fat, and phytic acid content, but increased protein, γ-aminobutyric acid (from 38.05 to 58.00–116.90 mg/100 g, p < 0.05), dietary fiber, soluble sugars, total phenolics, and DPPH radical scavenging activity (n = 5). Germination introduced palmitoleic, linolenic, arachidonic, myristic, and arachidic acids to Coix, increasing total amino acids and umami taste activity value from 88.09 to 104.50–141.39 (p < 0.05). The reduced bitterness and astringency of germinated Coix may be associated with lower linoleic acid content and higher levels of palmitoleic acid, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid. Ultrasound-assisted immersion for 20 min was identified as the optimal condition for enhancing GABA and amino acid contents while reducing bitterness, thereby broadening the food applications of Coix. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advancements in Food Processing Technologies for Enhancing Food Quality)
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18 pages, 1759 KB  
Article
Kinetic Simulation of Lipid Oxidation and Lycopene Antioxidant Activity in Tomato Pomace Using ANSYS Chemkin
by Lucian Dordai, Adrian Vasile Timar, Lacrimioara Senila, Lucian Cuibus and Anca Becze
Foods 2026, 15(9), 1522; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15091522 - 28 Apr 2026
Viewed by 450
Abstract
This study investigates the kinetics of lipid oxidation and the antioxidant activity of lycopene in tomato pomace using a combined computational–experimental approach. A reaction mechanism describing initiation, propagation, hydroperoxide formation, and radical scavenging was implemented in ANSYS Chemkin 2025 R2 and simulated under [...] Read more.
This study investigates the kinetics of lipid oxidation and the antioxidant activity of lycopene in tomato pomace using a combined computational–experimental approach. A reaction mechanism describing initiation, propagation, hydroperoxide formation, and radical scavenging was implemented in ANSYS Chemkin 2025 R2 and simulated under controlled conditions at 50, 70, and 90 °C for up to 12 h. The model was validated using experimental measurements of linoleic acid, lycopene, and hexanal obtained from thermally treated tomato pomace. The results showed a strong temperature dependence of oxidation processes, with minimal changes at 50 °C and a transition to a propagation-dominated regime at 90 °C. Linoleic acid degradation reached 18.17% after 12 h at 90 °C, accompanied by a significant increase in hexanal formation, while lycopene loss remained below 5%. The model accurately reproduced experimental trends, with high correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.9761 for linoleic acid, 0.9899 for lycopene, and 0.9982 for hexanal). Hydroperoxides were identified as key intermediates, accumulating prior to decomposition into volatile products. The results demonstrate that the proposed kinetic model provides a reliable tool for predicting lipid oxidation behavior in tomato by-products and highlights the critical influence of temperature on oxidative stability. Mean percentage errors ranged from 10.03% (hexanal) to 23.52% (linoleic acid), consistent with the complexity of the matrix. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advancements in Food Processing Technologies for Enhancing Food Quality)
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29 pages, 23134 KB  
Article
Regulating Extruded Expanded Food Quality Through Extrusion Die Geometry and Processing Parameters
by Qi Zhang, Runzhe Zhang, Junjie Gong, Wenguang Wei, Lela Susilawati and Zhichao Li
Foods 2026, 15(1), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15010078 - 26 Dec 2025
Viewed by 884
Abstract
Quality regulation of extruded expanded foods represents a critical technological challenge in this field. Current research has predominantly focused on the impact of extrusion processing parameters, largely overlooking the regulatory role of die structure. This study presents an integrated “CFD + Extrusion Process” [...] Read more.
Quality regulation of extruded expanded foods represents a critical technological challenge in this field. Current research has predominantly focused on the impact of extrusion processing parameters, largely overlooking the regulatory role of die structure. This study presents an integrated “CFD + Extrusion Process” methodology to systematically explore the effects of die design and process conditions on expanded product quality. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations evaluated the influence of nozzle number (12–15) and L/D ratio (1.25–2.5) on flow uniformity, the CFD results identified an optimal die configuration of 14 nozzles with L/D = 1.25, which minimized flow variance (velocity variance: 1.09 × 10−5 (m/s)2; viscosity variance: 2.777 (Pa·s)2) and established a stable flow foundation. Building on this, the RSM-based experiments revealed how process parameters specifically fine-tune quality attributes: screw speed and moisture content significantly (p < 0.05) affected Water Absorption Index (WAI) and Water Solubility Index (WSI), whereas moisture and temperature were the dominant factors (p < 0.05) governing bulk density and starch gelatinization. The findings of this study can provide a theoretical reference for the precise control of the quality of expanded food products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advancements in Food Processing Technologies for Enhancing Food Quality)
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Review

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27 pages, 1307 KB  
Review
Optimizing Wheat Milling By-Products: An Overview of Processing Techniques
by Reham Ahmed Khashaba, Haiwei Lou, Yue Li, Saeed Hamid Saeed Omer, Xunda Wang, Zhonghua Gu and Renyong Zhao
Foods 2026, 15(6), 1085; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15061085 - 20 Mar 2026
Viewed by 624
Abstract
The increasing demand for novel and healthy food options is largely driven by the rise in lifestyle diseases and the global challenges of climate change. Annually, wheat by-products (WBP) production surpasses 150 million tons, with an anticipated growth of 10 million tons per [...] Read more.
The increasing demand for novel and healthy food options is largely driven by the rise in lifestyle diseases and the global challenges of climate change. Annually, wheat by-products (WBP) production surpasses 150 million tons, with an anticipated growth of 10 million tons per year from 2021 to 2027. This surge has attracted researchers’ interest in leveraging WBP as sustainable food resources that promote human health. This review evaluates the effects of thermal and emerging nonthermal processing technologies on WBP, focusing on enzyme activity, antinutritional factors, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and functional properties. Notably, thermal degradation poses significant challenges due to the heat sensitivity of WBP’s nutritional components. Therefore, nonthermal techniques like high-intensity ultrasound, radiofrequency, and cold plasma are being explored for their potential to enhance nutritional quality and extend shelf life. Further investigation is crucial to comprehensively understand the effects of these innovative treatments on WBP. Such research could facilitate the incorporation of treated WBP into the food industry, leading to new health-promoting products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advancements in Food Processing Technologies for Enhancing Food Quality)
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