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The Chemistry of Food Quality Changes During Processing and Storage

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 142

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Food Technology and Assessment, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159 C, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: high pressure processing; innovative methods of food preservation; juices production; bioactive compounds; functional foods; HS-SPME GC-MS; HPLC analysis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As global demand for safe, nutritious, and high-quality food products continues to rise, understanding the chemical transformations that affect food properties has become increasingly critical. These include mechanisms such as lipid oxidation, Maillard reactions, enzymatic activities, and other chemical processes that lead to changes in flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and safety.

Our Special Issue aims to feature cutting-edge research and comprehensive reviews that explore the following:

  • The fundamental chemistry underlying food quality changes that occur during processing or storage.
  • Methods of mitigation of the formation of organic compounds considered harmful to human health during food processing or storage, as well as innovative analytical techniques and methodologies employed to detect and quantify these transformations, thereby facilitating improved control and optimization of processing conditions.
  • Strategies for preserving and enhancing food quality, including the application of antioxidants, modified atmospheres, and advanced packaging technologies.

We hope this Special Issue will deepen our understanding of how chemical reactions influence food stability, sensory attributes, and nutritional integrity over time. Ultimately, it aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on managing chemical changes to ensure food safety, quality, and extended shelf life within the evolving landscape of the food industry.

Dr. Bartosz Kruszewski
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. Molecules 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 2700 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

  • innovative processing
  • microbiological quality
  • mitigation strategies
  • processing optimization
  • shelf life extension
  • physicochemical changes
  • nutritional value
  • antioxidant capacity

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

29 pages, 1095 KB  
Review
Lactic Acid Bacteria for Fungal Control and Shelf-Life Extension in Fresh Pasta: Mechanistic Insights and Clean-Label Strategies
by Noor Sehar, Roberta Pino, Michele Pellegrino and Monica Rosa Loizzo
Molecules 2026, 31(2), 389; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31020389 (registering DOI) - 22 Jan 2026
Abstract
The global food industry is undergoing a major shift driven by increasing consumer demand for clean-label and naturally preserved foods. Fresh pasta is highly vulnerable to fungal damage because of its high water activity (aw > 0.85), typically ranging between 0.92 and [...] Read more.
The global food industry is undergoing a major shift driven by increasing consumer demand for clean-label and naturally preserved foods. Fresh pasta is highly vulnerable to fungal damage because of its high water activity (aw > 0.85), typically ranging between 0.92 and 0.97, moderate to near-neutral pH (around 5.0–7.0), and nutrient-rich composition, all of which create favorable conditions for fungal growth during refrigeration, mainly by genera such as Penicillium and Aspergillus. Fungal contamination results in significant economic losses due to reduced product quality and poses potential health risks associated with mycotoxin production. Although conventional chemical preservatives are relatively effective in preventing spoilage, their use conflicts with clean-label trends and faces growing regulatory and consumer scrutiny. In this context, antifungal lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have emerged as a promising natural alternative for biopreservation. Several LAB strains, particularly those isolated from cereal-based environments (e.g., Lactobacillus plantarum and L. amylovorus), produce a broad spectrum of antifungal metabolites, including organic acids, phenylalanine-derived acids, cyclic dipeptides, and volatile compounds. These metabolites act synergistically to inhibit fungal growth through multiple mechanisms, such as cytoplasmic acidification, energy depletion, and membrane disruption. However, the application of LAB in fresh pasta production requires overcoming several challenges, including the scale-up from laboratory to industrial processes, the maintenance of metabolic activity within the complex pasta matrix, and the preservation of desirable sensory attributes. Furthermore, regulatory approval (GRAS/QPS status), economic feasibility, and effective consumer communication are crucial for successful commercial implementation. This review analyzes studies published over the past decade on fresh pasta spoilage and the antifungal activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), highlighting the progressive refinement of LAB-based biopreservation strategies. The literature demonstrates a transition from early descriptive studies to recent research focused on strain-specific mechanisms and technological integration. Overall, LAB-mediated biopreservation emerges as a sustainable, clean-label approach for extending the shelf life and safety of fresh pasta, with future developments relying on targeted strain selection and synergistic preservation strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Chemistry of Food Quality Changes During Processing and Storage)
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