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Mathematical/Kinetic Modeling of Safety and Quality Attribute Changes During Food...
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Mathematical/Kinetic Modeling of Safety and Quality Attribute Changes During Food Processing or Storage

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2025) | Viewed by 4804

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jiakai Lu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Interests: sustainable food process engineering; modelling and numerical simulation; interfacial transport phenomena; rheology
Dr. Carlos M. Corvalan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Science, Purdue University, 745 Agriculture Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47906, USA
Interests: food engineering; biological engineering; physicochemistry and thermodynamics of biomaterials and bioprocess; rheology, micro-rheology and interfacial dynamics; modeling and computational simulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding the intricate dynamics of safety and quality attribute changes during food processing or storage is pivotal for ensuring food safety and maintaining product quality throughout shelf-life. Mathematical and kinetic modeling techniques play a pivotal role in this pursuit, offering predictive insights into the complex transformations within food systems.

This Special Issue aims to curate original research and reviews focused on mathematical and kinetic modeling methodologies, encompassing a broad spectrum of approaches. Contributions are invited to explore various mathematical models, including reaction kinetics, transport phenomena, predictive algorithms, statistical modeling, computational simulations and machine learning applications. The focus is on decoding and forecasting alterations in chemical, microbiological, physical and sensory attributes. Submissions should demonstrate the application of diverse modeling frameworks across different food categories and processing scenarios, aiming to unravel the kinetics underlying safety and quality changes.

We encourage submissions that highlight the diverse array of mathematical models utilized, showcasing their transformative potential in enhancing our comprehension of safety and quality dynamics during food processing or storage.

Dr. Jiakai Lu
Dr. Carlos M. Corvalan
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 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

  • food process engineering
  • storage
  • food quality and safety
  • mathematical/kinetic modeling
  • interfacial transport phenomena
  • rheology

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2863 KiB  
Article
Numerical Study for Efficient Cooling of Perishable Food Products During Storage: The Case of Tomatoes
by Audrey Demafo, Abebe Geletu and Pu Li
Foods 2025, 14(14), 2508; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14142508 - 17 Jul 2025
Viewed by 150
Abstract
Unveiling temperature patterns within agricultural products remains the most important indicator for their quality assessment during post-harvest treatments. Temperature control and monitoring within vented packages is essential for preserving the quality of perishable goods, such as tomato fruits, by preventing localized temperature maxima [...] Read more.
Unveiling temperature patterns within agricultural products remains the most important indicator for their quality assessment during post-harvest treatments. Temperature control and monitoring within vented packages is essential for preserving the quality of perishable goods, such as tomato fruits, by preventing localized temperature maxima that can accelerate spoilage. This study proposes a modeling and simulation approach to systematically investigate how ventilation design choices influence internal airflow distribution and the resulting cooling performance. Our analysis compares three distinct venting configurations (single top vent, single middle vent, and two vents) across two package boundary conditions: an open-top system allowing for dual air exits through the open top boundary and the outlet vent(s), respectively, and a closed-top system with a single exit pathway through the outlet vent(s). All scenarios are simulated to assess airflow patterns, velocity magnitudes, and temperature uniformity within different package designs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mathematical/Kinetic Modeling of Safety and Quality Attribute Changes During Food Processing or Storage)
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14 pages, 3569 KiB  
Article
Maximizing Antioxidant Potential in Picual Virgin Olive Oil: Tailoring Agronomic and Technological Factors with Response Surface Methodology
by Antonia de Torres, Francisco Espínola, Manuel Moya, Cristóbal Cara Corpas, Alfonso M. Vidal and Salvador Pérez-Huertas
Foods 2024, 13(13), 2093; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13132093 - 1 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1887
Abstract
Over the past years, a prolonged drought has affected Spain, raising significant concerns across various sectors, especially agriculture. This extended period of dry weather is profoundly affecting the growth and development of olive trees, potentially impacting the quality and quantity of olive oil [...] Read more.
Over the past years, a prolonged drought has affected Spain, raising significant concerns across various sectors, especially agriculture. This extended period of dry weather is profoundly affecting the growth and development of olive trees, potentially impacting the quality and quantity of olive oil produced. This study aims to assess the impact of agronomic factors, i.e., olive maturation and irrigation management, as well as the technological factors involved in the production process, on the antioxidant content of Picual virgin olive oil. Mathematical models were developed to maximize the concentration of polyphenols, orthodiphenols, chlorophylls, carotenes, and tocopherols in olive oils. Findings indicate that increasing the malaxation temperature from 20 to 60 °C and reducing the mixing time from 60 to 20 min positively influenced the polyphenol and orthodiphenol content. Although irrigation did not significantly affect the polyphenols, pigments, and α-tocopherol contents, it may enhance the β- and γ-tocopherol content. Optimal conditions for producing antioxidant-enriched virgin olive oils involved olives from rainfed crops, with a moisture index of 3–4, and a 60-min malaxation process at 60 °C. Under these conditions, the total phenol content doubled, pigment content increased fourfold, and α-tocopherol content rose by 15%. These findings provide relevant knowledge to interpret the year-to-year variation in both organoleptic and analytical profiles of virgin olive oils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mathematical/Kinetic Modeling of Safety and Quality Attribute Changes During Food Processing or Storage)
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Review

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18 pages, 1123 KiB  
Review
A Meta-Analysis on the Antimicrobial Effectiveness of Ozonated Water Treatments for Fresh Produce Washing—Effect of Ozonation Methods
by Haknyeong Hong, Marissa Faye Rizzi, Danhui Wang, Lynne McLandsborough and Jiakai Lu
Foods 2024, 13(23), 3906; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13233906 - 3 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2195
Abstract
Due to the lack of a pathogen-killing process, foodborne outbreaks from contaminated fresh produce have been increasing worldwide. Hence, it is increasingly recognized that the washing step with sanitizers is important to control microbial contamination. Ozonated water is suggested as a substitute for [...] Read more.
Due to the lack of a pathogen-killing process, foodborne outbreaks from contaminated fresh produce have been increasing worldwide. Hence, it is increasingly recognized that the washing step with sanitizers is important to control microbial contamination. Ozonated water is suggested as a substitute for chlorine-based sanitizers, addressing concerns about the effectiveness and environmental impact of chlorine-based sanitizers. However, using ozone as a sanitizer in the fresh produce washing process is still challenging because of its unstable and inconsistent antimicrobial effectiveness under various testing conditions. A meta-analysis was focused on the comparison of antimicrobial effectiveness between different ozonation methods commonly adopted in laboratory settings, including stationary pre-ozonated water, agitated pre-ozonated water, and sparging. The meta-analysis showed that the sparging method results in the highest microbial log reduction compared to other methods. We further developed meta-regression models based on three ozonation methods to identify key processing variables influencing the antimicrobial effectiveness of ozonated water. Attempts were made to link key processing variables to ozone stability and the mass transport phenomena involved in the washing process. This research will contribute to designing and developing a washing process to increase fresh produce safety by identifying key factors in each ozonation method and facilitate interlaboratory comparison studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mathematical/Kinetic Modeling of Safety and Quality Attribute Changes During Food Processing or Storage)
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