Special Issue "Application of Novel Drying Technologies for Sustainable Production of Fruit and Vegetable Products"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2023 | Viewed by 41

Special Issue Editors

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
Interests: innovative food processing technologies; ultrasound technology; food safety engineering
Dr. Guibing Chen
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC, USA
Interests: encapsulation; dietary fiber

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

At present, consumers are aware of the importance of a healthy and sustainable diet. Fruits and vegetables rich in bioactive compounds (e.g., flavonoids, vitamins, carotenoids, and anthocyanins) have become the choice of consumers. Due to the seasonality of raw plants, many fruits and vegetables are available on the market in a fresh state for only a short time during the year. Furthermore, after harvest, a surplus of raw materials can occur. Therefore, drying fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to produce innovative products, including by-products, that are both physically attractive and nutrient-rich. Drying also solves the problem of preserving, storing, and transporting fruits and vegetables.

However, due to the binding of water molecules to food biopolymeric matrixes, as well as the increase in the enthalpy of evaporation at low moisture content, traditional thermal drying is an energy-intensive process that requires prolonged product exposure to elevated temperatures. As a result, the drying of fruits and vegetables is often accompanied by the deterioration of phytochemical and physical quality. The quest for quality dried products has led to the development of a number of new drying and pretreatment methods. Microwave, ultrasound, high-pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric field (PEF), and cold plasma, among others, have been proposed and tested as pretreatments or finishing drying methods when combined with hot air drying to improve the drying efficiency and the sensory and nutritional quality of dried products. Moreover, there is a need for sustainable approaches in terms of energy reduction, carbon footprint reduction, and waste reduction by utilizing by-products, such as the use of techniques utilizing renewable energy sources.

We invite authors to contribute original research articles as well as state-of-the-art reviews that will stimulate the further development of innovative technologies for the drying of fruits and vegetables.

Prof. Dr. Hao Feng
Dr. Guibing Chen
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 2400 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

  • fruits and vegetables
  • innovative drying technology
  • pretreatment
  • physical properties
  • nutritional quality
  • by-products
  • bioactive compounds
  • energy consumption

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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