Improving Food Quality and Safety: An Exploration of Natural Antimicrobials
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Quality and Safety".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 June 2025 | Viewed by 701
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioactive compounds; natural antimicrobials; nanotechnology; food safety; food microbiology; encapsulation; active packaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 451 10 Ioannina, Greece
Interests: food safety; natural food antimicrobials; food quality and safety of traditional Mediterranean and Arabic foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The growing demand for minimally processed foods and the use of natural ingredients instead of synthetic additives are shaping the preferences of consumers worldwide. In this context, natural antimicrobials have emerged as a promising alternative, enhancing the quality and safety of food while meeting the needs of a more conscious and sustainable market.
Natural antimicrobials include bioactive compounds derived from plants, such as the phenolics and terpenes found in herbs, spices, and essential oils, as well as substances of animal origin, such as antimicrobial peptides and chitosan. These antimicrobials can be applied directly in the formulation of food products as preservation agents, aiding in the prevention of spoilage and the growth of pathogens and fungi that compromise the quality and safety of food, thereby extending its shelf life.
This Special Issue aims to compile research articles and literature reviews concerning the application of natural antimicrobials as food additives, highlighting their impact on the quality and safety of food. We welcome submissions that address aspects such as sources and extraction methods, antimicrobial efficacy, viability in different food matrices, as well as the challenges associated with the use of natural antimicrobials in the food industry.
Dr. Patrícia Da Silva Malheiros
Prof. Dr. Ioannis Savvaidis
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
- natural preservatives
- natural antimicrobials
- bioactive compounds
- essential oils
- bacteriocins
- food safety
- food quality
- nanotechnology
- encapsulation
- preservation strategies
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