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Advanced Processing Technologies and Methods to Improve Meat Quality and...
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Advanced Processing Technologies and Methods to Improve Meat Quality and Safety

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2759

Editors

Prof. Dr. María Victoria Sarries Martínez

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Guest Editor
Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain (IS-FOOD), Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus de Arrosadía, 31006 Pamplona, Spain
Interests: food industry; bioactive compounds; healthy foods; sensory properties; chromatographic techniques; emerging technologies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mirian Pateiro

grade E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro Tecnológico de la Carne de Galicia, Avda. Galicia N° 4, Parque Tecnolóxico de Galicia, 32900 San Cibrao das Viñas, Ourense, Spain
Interests: food technology; functional food; bioactive compounds; natural antioxidants; meat quality; emerging technologies; healthier meat products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The meat industry is experiencing rapid transformation driven by the need to improve product quality, safety, and nutritional profile, within a context of sustainability and public health. This Special Issue focuses on advanced technologies and innovative methods that are redefining meat processing, from new postmortem intervention strategies based on biochemical and structural control of tissues to solutions aimed at optimizing the technological functionality of meat. Emerging techniques such as cold plasma, ultrasound, high-pressure processing, high-voltage electrical pulses, and encapsulation of bioactive compounds not only extend shelf life of meat but also enhance their nutritional value and reduce the use of synthetic additives, thus supporting clean label initiatives. Biotechnology, for its part, offers promising strategies for modulating meat microbiome and improving safety without compromising sensory properties. In addition, advances in intelligent thermal processing and precision marinating open up new possibilities for customizing products to specific dietary needs. We invite researchers to submit original studies and critical reviews that address these innovations from a rigorous scientific perspective, with a direct impact on the meat value chain and the modern consumer.

Prof. Dr. María Victoria Sarries Martínez
Dr. Mirian Pateiro
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-anonymized 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

  • advanced processing
  • emerging technologies
  • alternative non-thermal methods
  • minimally processed foods
  • sustainability
  • clean label
  • food safety
  • sensory properties
  • consumer expectations

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4460 KB  
Article
Regulation of Pickling Efficiency and Physicochemical Properties of Reduced-Sodium Chicken Breast Using Shiitake Mushroom Extract and Ultrasound-Assisted Marination
by Shuqiang Zhang, Yungang Cao, Min Li, Bin Yu, Haiteng Tao, Zhengzong Wu, Xuemin Kang, Guimei Liu, Lu Lu, Feixue Zou, Haibo Zhao and Bo Cui
Foods 2026, 15(7), 1207; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15071207 - 2 Apr 2026
Viewed by 518
Abstract
Reducing sodium in poultry products often compromises texture and water-holding capacity. This study investigated the interactive effects of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) mushroom extract (SME) and ultrasound (US) on mitigating these defects in reduced-sodium chicken breast. A standard 2.0% NaCl brine served [...] Read more.
Reducing sodium in poultry products often compromises texture and water-holding capacity. This study investigated the interactive effects of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) mushroom extract (SME) and ultrasound (US) on mitigating these defects in reduced-sodium chicken breast. A standard 2.0% NaCl brine served as the control, while reduced-sodium formulations contained 1.4% NaCl supplemented with 0.2% or 0.6% KCl. SME (0.4–1.2%) and probe US (20 kHz, 300 W, 15 min) were applied. Independently, SME increased brine uptake (15% at 1.2% SME), while US accelerated chloride diffusion (~30%) via microstructural disruption. The synergistic treatment combining 0.8% SME with US was identified as the statistical optimum. Simple effect analysis confirmed this combination significantly reduced cooking loss (p < 0.01) and restored comprehensive textural attributes to levels comparable with the 2.0% NaCl control. As confirmed by LF-NMR and microstructural analysis (H&E staining), these macroscopic improvements were highly correlated with optimized immobilized water (P21) proportions and myofibrillar protein-matrix stabilization. Ultimately, this strategy provides a functional and microstructural basis for developing sodium-reduced poultry without compromising critical quality attributes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Processing Technologies and Methods to Improve Meat Quality and Safety)
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18 pages, 2300 KB  
Article
Evaluation of Nisin and Cultured Dextrose as Clean Label Preservatives in Braised Chicken Breast: Antibacterial Activity and Quality Preservation
by Xuan Kong, Haihua Zhu, Chenman Zhao, Changming Ma, Juntan Wang, Bishan Guo, Fashan Wei, Xiaoling Yu and Long Xu
Foods 2026, 15(4), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15040668 - 12 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 751
Abstract
Meat products face microbial safety challenges, while growing consumer demand for “clean label” options discourages the use of synthetic preservatives. Although Nisin and cultured dextrose (CD) are known natural antimicrobials, their combined application in meat systems has not been fully assessed. Herein, we [...] Read more.
Meat products face microbial safety challenges, while growing consumer demand for “clean label” options discourages the use of synthetic preservatives. Although Nisin and cultured dextrose (CD) are known natural antimicrobials, their combined application in meat systems has not been fully assessed. Herein, we systematically evaluated the antibacterial activity of CD in combination with Nisin against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) using a uniform design. While regression modeling of the in vitro data indicated a potent synergistic interaction at lower concentrations, the optimal practical combination for meat preservation was identified as 0.02% Nisin and 0.5% CD. This combination was applied to braised chicken breast stored at 0–4 °C, with microbial counts, pH, color, and sensory quality monitored over 28 days. The results indicated that this Nisin-CD combination significantly suppressed the growth of total viable bacteria, S. aureus, and E. coli, stabilized pH, minimized color variation, and maintained sensory acceptability. Therefore, the 0.02% Nisin and 0.5% CD combination is recommended as an effective clean-label strategy to extend the shelf life of meat products by enhancing microbial safety and quality without synthetic preservatives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Processing Technologies and Methods to Improve Meat Quality and Safety)
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15 pages, 2573 KB  
Article
Whole-Plant Rape Silage-Based Diets for Chongming White Goats: An Integrated Assessment of Growth Performance, Meat Quality and Gut Microbiota
by Rongrong Liao, Changfeng Xiao, Yuhua Lv, Yue Liu, Yuexia Lin and Lihui Zhu
Foods 2025, 14(20), 3512; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14203512 - 15 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1049
Abstract
Forage rape (Brassica napus L.) is increasingly becoming a valued forage choice in livestock production. However, research on the application of whole-plant rape silage (including pod shells) in goats remains limited. To evaluate the effects of whole-plant rape silage on goat growth [...] Read more.
Forage rape (Brassica napus L.) is increasingly becoming a valued forage choice in livestock production. However, research on the application of whole-plant rape silage (including pod shells) in goats remains limited. To evaluate the effects of whole-plant rape silage on goat growth performance, meat quality, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal health, a 90-day feeding trial was performed using 36 healthy 6-month-old Chongming white goats. The goats were fed ad libitum and divided into two groups: a control group (CON, n = 18) fed corn straw silage and a treatment group (TRT, n = 18) fed a diet containing a 1:1 mixture of whole-plant rape silage and corn straw silage. Results showed that a 50% substitution with whole-plant rape silage increased carcass weight (p = 0.005), enhanced total antioxidant capacity (p < 0.01) in plasma, reduced bitter amino acids (such as leucine, isoleucine and phenylalanine; p < 0.05) in muscle, promoted intestinal villi proliferation (p < 0.05), and increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria involved in carbohydrate metabolism (e.g., Family_XIII_AD3011_group; p = 0.028) and propionic acid metabolism (e.g., Phascolarctobacterium; p = 0.026). In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that whole-plant rape silage can serve as a viable alternative to corn straw silage for Chongming white goats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Processing Technologies and Methods to Improve Meat Quality and Safety)
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