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Foods
Special Issues
Emerging Trends in Food Microbiology and Food Safety
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Emerging Trends in Food Microbiology and Food Safety

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 1595

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kai Zhong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food, College of Biomass Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Interests: food safety; antimicrobial; food microbiology; fermentation engineering; fermented food
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With rapid changes in the global food system—driven by climate change, globalization, novel food products, and evolving consumer preferences—the process of ensuring microbial safety and food quality has become more complex and critical than ever. This Special Issue seeks original research articles, reviews, and case studies that address recent advances, novel technologies, and interdisciplinary approaches in the field. We welcome contributions on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Rapid detection technologies (e.g., biosensors, CRISPR-based tools, NGS);
  • Omics-based insights into microbial ecology and foodborne pathogens;
  • Natural and sustainable antimicrobial agents;
  • Microbiome impacts on food quality and fermentation;
  • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and One Health strategies;
  • Microbial safety in emerging food sectors (e.g., plant-based, insect-based, RTE foods).

Submissions should provide novel insights or practical applications that contribute to improving food safety, protecting public health, and supporting sustainable food systems. We invite researchers, food microbiologists, technologists, and industry professionals to contribute to this timely issue.

Dr. Kai Zhong
Guest Editor

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

  • food microbiology
  • food safety
  • rapid detection
  • omics technologies
  • natural antimicrobials
  • microbiome
  • fermentation
  • antimicrobial resistance
  • One Health
  • emerging food sectors

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 2660 KB  
Article
Poultry Food Assess Risk Model for Salmonella and Chicken Eggs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
by Amani T. Alsufyani, Norah M. Alotaibi, Fahad M. Alreshoodi, Lenah E. Mukhtar, Afnan Althubaiti, Manal Almusa, Maha Althubyani, Rashed Bin Jaddua, Bassam Alsulaiman, Sarah Alsaleh, Saleh I. Alakeel, Thomas P. Oscar and Sulaiman M. Alajel
Foods 2025, 14(19), 3382; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14193382 - 30 Sep 2025
Viewed by 485
Abstract
Salmonella presents serious risks to human health, causing about 150,000 deaths per year through the consumption of contaminated food, especially chicken eggs. Consequently, risk of salmonellosis from chicken eggs is of significant interest to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). Models that [...] Read more.
Salmonella presents serious risks to human health, causing about 150,000 deaths per year through the consumption of contaminated food, especially chicken eggs. Consequently, risk of salmonellosis from chicken eggs is of significant interest to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). Models that predict the risk of salmonellosis from chicken eggs are valuable tools for protecting public health. After a review of existing models, the SFDA selected the Poultry Food Assess Risk Model (PFARM) for the purpose of evaluating its ability to assess the risk and severity of salmonellosis for a small cohort of chicken egg consumers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a proof-of-concept and pilot study. The PFARM was selected because it uses novel methods to consider more risk factors for salmonellosis than other models, such as growth potential and zoonotic potential of Salmonella, buffering capacity of the meal, and consumer behavior, health, and immunity. The SFDA examined chicken eggs from retail stores in Riyadh for Salmonella contamination and surveyed 125 consumers to obtain data for simulating how they store, prepare, and consume eggs at home, and their resistance to salmonellosis. The prevalence of Salmonella in chicken eggs at retail was 7% (7/100). The isolated Salmonella serotypes were Cerro (n = 4), Enteritidis, Stanley, and Winston. Salmonella’s mean number (growth units) per contaminated egg was 1.58 log10 (range: 0 to 3.08 log10). The mean category for consumer survey results ranged from 1.1 (very low risk) for meal preparation time to 3.7 (high risk) for home storage time with 34.4% of consumers having low resistance to salmonellosis. Per 100,000 egg meals, the PFARM predicted 88 infections, two illnesses, and no hospitalizations or deaths. The consumers who became ill were exposed to Salmonella Enteritidis, had moderate resistance to salmonellosis but high-risk behaviors for egg storage (temperature abuse), meal preparation (poor hygiene), and consumption (undercooked eggs). These results showed that the studied chicken eggs posed a low risk and severity of salmonellosis for the surveyed consumer cohort in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and that the PFARM was fit-for-purpose. The next step is to improve the PFARM and apply it more broadly in Saudi Arabia to better define the problem and its control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Food Microbiology and Food Safety)
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22 pages, 3310 KB  
Article
Revealing the Response Mechanism of Pediococcus pentosaceus Under Acid and Alcohol Stresses via a Combined Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis
by Pan Huang, Huan Yang, Yiyang Zhou, Siyuan Zeng, Rongqing Zhou and Chongde Wu
Foods 2025, 14(13), 2400; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14132400 - 7 Jul 2025
Viewed by 658
Abstract
Pediococcus pentosaceus, an important lactic acid bacterium in the brewing of Chinese Baijiu (liquor), usually encounters environmental stresses including ethanol and lactic acid, which severely impact cellular growth and metabolism. In this study, a combined physiological and omics analysis was employed to [...] Read more.
Pediococcus pentosaceus, an important lactic acid bacterium in the brewing of Chinese Baijiu (liquor), usually encounters environmental stresses including ethanol and lactic acid, which severely impact cellular growth and metabolism. In this study, a combined physiological and omics analysis was employed to elucidate the response mechanisms of P. pentosaceus under ethanol and lactic acid stress conditions. The results showed that the biomass of cells decreased by about 40% under single-stress conditions and 70% under co-stress conditions. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes revealed that the cells adjusted various cellular processes to cope with environmental stresses, including modifications in cell wall synthesis, membrane function, and energy production pathways. Meanwhile, the increased expression of genes involved in DNA repair system and protein biosynthesis ensured the normal physiological function of cells. Notably, under ethanol stress, P. pentosaceus upregulated genes involved in unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis, enhancing membrane stability and integrity. Conversely, under lactic acid stress, cells downregulated F-type ATPase, reducing H+ influx to maintain intracellular pH homeostasis. The metabolomic analysis revealed DNA damage under co-stress conditions and further validated the transcriptomic results. Our findings elucidate the molecular and physiological strategies of P. pentosaceus under acid and ethanol stress, providing a foundation for optimizing fermentation processes and enhancing microbial resilience in industrial settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Food Microbiology and Food Safety)
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