Safety of Nutritional Products: From Production to Patient Care

Dear Colleagues,

Nutritional products have become an essential component of modern healthcare, disease prevention, and health promotion. Beyond conventional foods, this rapidly expanding category includes dietary supplements, functional foods, foods for special medical purposes (FSMP), oral nutritional supplements (ONS), enteral and parenteral nutrition products, probiotics, infant nutrition, and other specialized nutritional formulations. While their nutritional and therapeutic benefits have been extensively investigated, the concept of safety throughout the entire product lifecycle has received comparatively less comprehensive attention.

The objective of this Special Issue is to provide a multidisciplinary platform for research addressing the safety of nutritional products from production to patient care. It aims to integrate knowledge from food science, nutrition, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, microbiology, toxicology, public health, biomedical engineering, and regulatory sciences in order to improve product quality, consumer protection, and patient safety.

The Special Issue welcomes studies investigating the microbiological, chemical, technological, clinical, and organizational aspects of nutritional product safety across manufacturing, packaging, distribution, storage, clinical use, and post-market surveillance. Particular emphasis will be placed on innovative technologies, quality assurance systems, regulatory frameworks, and evidence-based strategies that enhance the safety of nutritional products throughout their lifecycle.

Original research articles, systematic reviews, narrative reviews, short communications, and perspectives are all welcome.

Topics

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Nutritional products

• Foods for special medical purposes (FSMP);
• Oral nutritional supplements (ONS);
• Dietary supplements;
• Functional foods;
• Medical foods;
• Enteral nutrition;
• Parenteral nutrition;
• Infant and pediatric nutrition;
• Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics;
• Novel foods;
• Omega-3-enriched products and lipid emulsions.

Nutritional product quality and safety

• Food hygiene and microbiological safety;
• Chemical contaminants and environmental pollutants;
• Heavy metals and toxic compounds;
• Oxidative stability of nutritional products;
• Lipid oxidation and antioxidant protection;
• Shelf life and storage stability;
• Product authentication and adulteration;
• Risk assessment and quality control.

Nutritional product packaging and processing

• Food packaging safety;
• Edible packaging;
• Active and intelligent packaging;
• Migration of packaging components;
• Sustainable packaging solutions;
• Manufacturing quality assurance;
• Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP);
• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

Nutritional product clinical and healthcare applications

• Safety of enteral and parenteral nutrition;
• Hospital food services;
• Home nutritional support;
• Infection prevention during nutritional therapy;
• Patient safety in nutritional care;
• Medication–nutrition interactions;
• Nutritional products in vulnerable populations;
• Personalized nutrition and precision nutrition.

The global nutritional product sector is expanding rapidly due to population aging, the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, increasing consumer interest in preventive healthcare, and advances in personalized nutrition. Alongside these developments, ensuring product safety has become a critical scientific and public health challenge.

Safety must be considered throughout the entire lifecycle of nutritional products—from ingredient sourcing and manufacturing to packaging, storage, transportation, clinical administration, and consumer use. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration across multiple scientific disciplines and healthcare professions.

This Special Issue introduces an integrated perspective on nutritional product safety, emphasizing that product quality, hygiene, stability, regulatory compliance, and patient safety are interconnected components of effective nutritional care. By bringing together contributions from academia, healthcare, industry, and regulatory agencies, the Special Issue aims to advance scientific knowledge and promote safer nutritional products for both consumers and patients.

Prof. Dr. Wojciech Kolanowski
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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