Transforming the Food System: Technological Innovations in Biomass Utilization for Functional Food Production and Circular Economy
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 1564
Special Issue Editor
Interests: functional food; microalgae food; biomass conversion; ecological engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The global food system faces two critical challenges:
- Rising Demand and Resource Scarcity: Population growth and aging are increasing the need for functional foods while straining traditional food resources.
- Environmental Pressures: Climate change, driven by greenhouse gas emissions, reduces arable land and crop yields, threatening food security.
To address these challenges, technological innovations offer significant opportunities:
- Expansion of Food Raw Materials Via Biomass Utilization
- Non-Grain Biomass Conversion: Agricultural and forestry waste (e.g., straw) can be transformed into food ingredients using microbial processes.
- Synthetic Biology "Cell Factories": Engineered microorganisms (including microalgae) produce proteins, oils, and functional compounds (e.g., human milk oligosaccharides).
- Precision Fermentation: Controlled fermentation processes enable scalable, high-yield synthesis of target products.
- Technology-Driven Industrial Upgrading
- AI-Enhanced R&D and Production: Artificial intelligence aids metabolic prediction, metabolic engineering, and gene editing, and optimizes flavor design.
- Synthetic Biology for Precision Regulation: Artificial intelligence aids fermentation control and improves yield, functionality, and manufacturing efficiency.
- Circular Economy through By-Product Valorization
- High-Value Extraction: Fruit/vegetable waste and aquatic by-products are converted into functional ingredients (e.g., asparagus powder, fish oil).
- Full-Value Utilization: Low-carbon technical systems ensure complete, cyclic use of biomass across production, processing, and distribution.
This Special Issue invites academic articles from global peers on scientific research and technological innovations in the fields of novel foods and functional foods, particularly those involving biomass conversion, bio-manufacturing, and AI-driven technologies. It aims to provide a platform for advancing the food industry's adaptation to the demands of the circular economy and addressing challenges posed by population aging.
Prof. Dr. Yuhuan Liu
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 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-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
- non-grain biomass
- full-value utilization
- synthetic biology
- precision fermentation
- alternative protein
- functional food
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