Advances in Post-Harvest Technologies and Comprehensive Evaluation of Quality in Fresh and Processed Fruits and Vegetables
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1298
Special Issue Editors
Interests: antioxidant activity; antimicrobial activity; biomass; non-thermal treatment; polyphenol; ultrasound
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fruits and vegetables are an important part of the human diet in both fresh and processed forms. Fruits and vegetables are perishable foods; therefore, it is necessary to preserve them from being lost as waste. In addition, during processing, a lot of fruits and vegetable go to waste. To overcome these issues or losses, advanced techniques are necessary. Furthermore, maintaining quality and minimizing agri-food loss can be possible through advances in harvesting, storage, packaging, and processing. For the advancements, AI and robotics can be used in smart and precision agriculture, advanced storage solutions for modification in control atmosphere and smart cold chains, innovation in packaging for smart packaging, edible coating and biodegradable edible film, and novel processing and preservation techniques, including high pressure processing, cold plasma, plus electric field and ultrasound. In the future, these advanced techniques can favorably reduce losses, enhance quality and safety, sustainability and integration.
The preservation of fruit and vegetable quality after harvest is a key challenge for the food industry, directly impacting food safety, nutritional value, and consumer acceptance. Conventional methods often fail to effectively mitigate post-harvest losses, requiring innovative approaches to extend shelf life and maintain the sensory and functional characteristics of these products. Advancements in post-harvest technologies, such as controlled atmosphere storage, edible coatings, ultrasound, cold plasma, and ozonation, have shown great potential in preserving quality and reducing waste. These innovations offer sustainable and effective alternatives, aligning with the growing demand for more natural and minimally processed foods.
This Special Issue aims to gather studies that explore novel approaches to post-harvest processing and their impacts on the quality, safety, and acceptance of fruit and vegetable products, fostering solutions to the challenges in this field.
Dr. Waseem Khalid
Dr. Nishant Kumar
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-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
- fruits and vegetables
- post-harvest processing
- robotic harvesting
- quality preservation techniques
- novel processing
- innovative technologies
- biodegradable film
- quality and safety
- sensory aspects
- food sustainability
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