Advanced Technologies and Applications for Processing, Preservation, Quality Monitoring, and Computational Modeling of Agri-Food Products

Dear Colleagues,

The global demand for safe, nutritious and sustainable food continues to grow in the face of challenges such as population growth, climate change, and resource constraints. To address these challenges, innovative techniques in food processing, preservation, quality assessment, predictive modeling, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology are critical for enhancing efficiency, reducing waste, improving quality, and ensuring food security. This Special Issue focuses on cutting-edge advancements in these areas, including novel processing methods, intelligent preservation systems, rapid quality detection tools (e.g., biosensors, optical detection), and numerical modeling approaches (e.g., machine learning, computer simulation, and AI-assisted predictive modeling) tailored for agri-food systems.

For this reason, a Special Issue of Foods is being released. This collection will bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical applications, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among food scientists, engineers, and data analysts. Contributions may explore topics such as optimizing processing parameters, extending shelf life, real-time quality monitoring, and simulating complex food matrices. By highlighting innovations in these domains, this Special Issue will advance sustainable practices, improve food safety, and support the development of smart, data-driven solutions for the agri-food industry. Researchers are invited to submit original studies, reviews, or case studies that align with these themes, ultimately contributing to the global transformation of food systems.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Emerging food processing technologies, e.g., microwave, radio frequency, ultra-high pressure, food 3D printing, cold plasma, and ultrasound-assisted techniques for pesticide degradation and microbial inactivation, etc.;
• Novel food preservation technologies, e.g., edible coatings and biodegradable packaging solutions to extend shelf-life of perishable foods;
• Quality monitoring technologies, e.g., optical detection and IoT-enabled sensors to evaluate freshness, maturity, physicochemical properties, and real-time food safety detection, etc.;
• Evaluation of food processing methods (heating, drying, puffing, extraction, etc.) on food nutritional components and final product quality;
• Numerical modeling methods for improving food processing performance, e.g., computer simulation, AI-driven numerical modeling;
• The application of emerging AI technologies in food processing,g., machine learning, AI-assisted food processing strategy, etc.

This Special Issue, entitled “Advanced Technologies and Applications for Processing, Preservation, Quality Monitoring, and Computational Modeling of Agri-food Products”, will include a selection of recent research and current review articles about food processing, preservation, quality monitoring, and computational modeling.

Prof. Dr. Xianzhe Zheng
Dr. Liuyang Shen
Dr. Bing Lu
Dr. Dianbin Su
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.

• food processing
• food preservation
• quality assessment
• computational modeling
• AI-assisted food processing strategy