Sustainable Approaches to Food Fortification and Shelf Life Extension

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2024) | Viewed by 3178

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Food & Environment, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
Interests: food packaging; food processing and preservation; shelf life extension; functional food; sanitizing techniques; byproduct valorization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Food and Environment, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
Interests: packaging; food preservation; sanitizing techniques; active compounds in the process and active packaging systems; functional food; byproduct valorization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The optimization of food formulation, processing, packaging, and storage conditions is of the utmost importance in ensuring maximum benefits for consumers. The simultaneous progress in the production of modern processing and the great issues linked to the environmental impact of the food sector promote a completely different approach to food research. The aim is not only to ensure the microbiological, chemical, sensorial, and nutraceutical quality of food, but also to accomplish eco-friendly aspects; therefore, article or review papers dealing with research efforts to optimize food, process conditions, or packaging systems with the perspective of a sustainable approach are desired. In addition, any contribution of research aiming toward understanding the best conditions with which to reuse food byproducts in activities directed toward the formulation, processing, preservation, and packaging of foodstuffs will be appreciated.

In this context, the current Special Issue invites the submission of original research papers and review manuscripts concerning recent advances in the field of food science aimed at promoting innovation in the new perspective of food sustainability.

The potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Development of novel foods;
  • Functional ingredients;
  • Innovative technologies (processing, formulation, storage, etc.);
  • Shelf life extension;
  • Reduction in food losses;
  • Valorization of food byproducts;
  • Bioactive packaging

Dr. Amalia Conte
Prof. Dr. Matteo Del Nobile
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • functional ingredients
  • innovative technologies (processing, formulation, storage, etc.)
  • shelf life extension
  • food byproducts
  • bioactive packaging

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1886 KiB  
Article
Effects of Gas Composition on the Lipid Oxidation and Fatty Acid Concentration of Tilapia Fillets Treated with In-Package Atmospheric Cold Plasma
by Xiaohan Sang, Yuanyuan Wang, Jiamei Wang, Zhicheng Cai, Lixian Zeng, Wentao Deng, Jianhao Zhang and Zhumao Jiang
Foods 2024, 13(1), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13010165 - 3 Jan 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1374
Abstract
Cold plasma (CP) is a non-thermal preservation technology that has been successfully used to decontaminate and extend the shelf life of aquatic products. However, the preservation effect of CP treatment is determined by several factors, including voltage, time, and gas compositions. Therefore, this [...] Read more.
Cold plasma (CP) is a non-thermal preservation technology that has been successfully used to decontaminate and extend the shelf life of aquatic products. However, the preservation effect of CP treatment is determined by several factors, including voltage, time, and gas compositions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of gas composition (GasA: 10% O2, 50% N2, 40% CO2; GasB: air; GasC: 30% O2, 30% N2, 40% CO2) on the lipid oxidation of tilapia fillets treated after CP treatment. Changes in the lipid oxidation values, the percentages of fatty acids, and sensory scores were studied during 8 d of refrigerator storage. The results showed that the CP treatment significantly increased all the primary and secondary lipid oxidation values measured in this study, as well as the percentages of saturated fatty acids, but decreased the percentages of unsaturated fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids. The lipid oxidation values were significantly increased in the GasC-CP group. After 8 d, clearly increased percentages of saturated fatty acids, a low level of major polyunsaturated fatty acids (especially linoleic (C18:2n-6)), and a decrease in the percentages of eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n-3) were found in GasC-CP; that is, the serious oxidation of lipids was found in the high O2 concentration group. In addition, the sensory score was also lower than that of the hypoxia CP group. Therefore, high O2 concentrations can enhance lipid oxidation and the changes in the fatty acid concentration. Controlling the O2 concentration is reasonable to limit the degree to which lipids are oxidized in tilapia after the in-package CP treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Approaches to Food Fortification and Shelf Life Extension)
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18 pages, 2235 KiB  
Article
Best Combination of Vegetable By-Products for the Shelf-Life Extension of Fresh Pasta
by Adriana Lordi, Olimpia Panza, Amalia Conte and Matteo Alessandro Del Nobile
Foods 2024, 13(1), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13010044 - 21 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1289
Abstract
A combination of by-products was studied in fresh handmade pasta. Pomegranate peels and olive oil by-products were used in the range 0–6% (w/w) and properly combined in a total of nine combinations with an equal amount of broccoli by-products [...] Read more.
A combination of by-products was studied in fresh handmade pasta. Pomegranate peels and olive oil by-products were used in the range 0–6% (w/w) and properly combined in a total of nine combinations with an equal amount of broccoli by-products (10% w/w). The broccoli by-products were added to improve the sensory acceptance, which was compromised when the two above by-products were added to the dough. To verify the synergic effects, among these by-products, on tagliatelle shelf life, microbiological quality based on the main spoilage groups, sensory properties, appearance of visible molds, pH and moisture content were monitored in all the packaged samples stored at 4 °C. In addition to fortified pasta samples, control tagliatelle was also investigated. A mathematical approach was used to fit experimental data and calculate pasta shelf life. In addition, a mathematical model was also proposed to describe the dependence of the shelf life from each by-product percentage added to the formulation. Results showed that while the control fresh pasta lasted about 3 days for the undesired proliferation of yeasts and coliforms, all fortified samples maintained acceptable quality for at least one week. Depending on the by-product combination, shelf-life values could reach more than 13 days. The best combination of by-products calculated based on the mathematical model, that reached the highest shelf life (13.30 days), corresponded to 10% broccoli by-products combined with 6% olive oil by-products and 6% pomegranate peels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Approaches to Food Fortification and Shelf Life Extension)
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