Recent Advances in Developing Biological Membranes and Their Applications in Food Quality Improvement

Dear Colleagues,

Food contamination have become a major global concern. The main significant issue that today’s word is facing is food spoilage and wastage which is directly correlated to inadequate food packaging. According to the recent report issued by the US Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), around 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted annually, leading to $940 billion in global economic losses ("Food waste costs global economy $940 billion," 2019). Biological membranes have become a focal point of research recently for developing environmentally friendly solutions for food quality improvement. For instance, a biodegradable active food packaging system may contain natural anti-browning agents, nutrients, colourants, antioxidants and antimicrobial compounds, or nanomaterials that enhance the quality, safety, and shelf life of products and reduce the possibility of bacterial growth. 

This special issue on “Recent Advances in Developing Biological Membranes and Their Applications in Food Quality Improvement” attempts to showcase the latest methods and advances in synthesising biological membranes and their applications in food quality improvement. I cordially invite the researchers to submit their latest findings as original research papers, systematic reviews, and review articles to "Foods".

This Research Topic calls for papers focusing on the following topics:

• Recyclable and eco-friendly food packaging materials.
• Incorporation of functional ingredients, antioxidants, and antimicrobial compounds from plants and their by-products to enhance the properties of bioactive membranes used for food packaging and water/wastewater treatment.
• Incorporation of green synthesised nanomaterials in biopolymer to improve the mechanical, optical, and physio-chemical properties of packaging.
• Developing smart/intelligent packaging.

Dr. Shima Jafarzadeh
Dr. Masoumeh Zargar
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.