Status of Food Science and Nutrition in Uzbekistan

Dear Colleagues,

In line with the United Nations’ Zero Hunger Sustainable Development Goals, Uzbekistan has adopted a clear roadmap to strengthen food security and promote sustainable food production as one of its strategic priorities for 2017–2021. This initiative has not only led to the emergence of new food enterprises and the modernization of the country’s food industries, but has also significantly boosted food science education, research, and international collaboration.

In 2022, these efforts culminated in the launch of the first national joint ERASMUS+ Capacity Building project co-funded by the European Union: European World Talent Camp for Uzbekistan Scientists in Food Science and Technology (ECAMPUZ). The project brought together two European higher education institutions (HEIs) and five HEIs from Uzbekistan. Through ECAMPUZ, more than 20 young food scientists from Uzbekistan spent at least three months in European laboratories, where they advanced their expertise through joint research and exposure to EU teaching practices. In addition, over 70 Uzbek food science students participated in three intensive training camps, where EU faculty introduced them to modern methodologies in diverse areas of food science, including food chemistry, analytical methods, foodomics, microbiology, data analysis, and more.

As the ECAMPUZ project concludes, we are proud to host its final event, The First Silk Road Conference on Food Science and Foodomics, to be held in the historic city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, from November 3–5, 2025. This Special Issue aims to collect research articles, reviews, and communications presented at the conference and/or developed within the ECAMPUZ project. We also welcome contributions from authors affiliated with other HEIs or associated project partners in Uzbekistan.

This Special Issue is dedicated to showcasing the current state of food science and nutrition research in Uzbekistan. We welcome submissions addressing one or more areas within food science and nutrition. Focus topics include, but are not limited to, the following: food processing, food raw materials, food microbiology, sensory science, diet–microbiome interactions, human nutrition, metabolomics, and foodomics.

Dr. Bekzod Khakimov
Dr. Dilbar Dalimova
Guest Editors

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• food processing
• food raw materials
• sensory science
• food microbiology
• diet–microbiome interactions
• human nutrition
• metabolomics
• foodomics