Circular Economy Strategies for a Sustainable Agri-Food System
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Food".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editors
Interests: Her research focuses on advanced food-science analytics (UV–Vis spectrophotometry and enzymatic assays) applied to the quality control and authentication of foods, with particular emphasis on dairy products. She investigates the valorisation of agro-industrial by-products to improve sustainability and consumer health within a circular-economy framework. She develops and optimises advanced extraction methods for bioactive compounds—particularly ultrasound-assisted extraction of carotenoids from agri-food waste—and designs functional ingredients, integrating bioactives into innovative food products.
Interests: His research sits at the interface of applied and environmental microbiology and agri-food systems, with emphasis on food quality and safety, microbial ecology and bioaerosol surveillance across the supply chain. He explores circular-economy solutions such as the valorisation of agricultural by-products and wastes, development of functional biomaterials, and biorefinery approaches that recover high-value bioactives. A complementary strand targets antifungal and antimicrobial strategies—including the use of engineered nanomaterials—against plant and food-borne pathogens, alongside molecular studies of phenolic compounds in crops. By integrating microbial indicators, advanced analytics and process innovation, his work advances sustainable, low-waste agri-food systems that protect consumer health and environmental quality.
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue, “Circular Economy Strategies for a Sustainable Agri-Food System”, focuses on designing, implementing and evaluating circular solutions across the food value chain. Its scope spans technological advances (e.g., upcycling and biorefinery pathways for by-products and wastes; recovery of bioactives and nutrients; process intensification), management and digital tools (traceability, decision support, and risk/safety assessment), and socio-economic and policy dimensions (business models, stakeholder engagement, just transitions, and regulatory frameworks). The purpose is to integrate scientific, economic and governance perspectives to accelerate resource efficiency, minimise waste and emissions, safeguard food quality and safety, and enhance resilience and equity.
The Special Issue will complement the existing literature by coupling methodological rigour—life-cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and multi-criteria decision analysis—with real-world case studies and comparative policy analyses. Contributions are invited that define and quantify sustainability using transparent indicators, measure and monitor system performance, and report validated tools and applications that are deployable at scale. By bridging disciplinary silos and linking evidence to actionable policy and practice, the Special Issue aims to advance measurable sustainability outcomes in agri-food systems, aligned with circular economy principles and the journal’s mission.
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/about
Dr. Roxana Nicoleta Rațu
Prof. Dr. Florin Daniel Lipsa
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- circular economy
- agri-food systems
- by-product valorisation
- food-waste upcycling
- biorefinery pathways
- life-cycle assessment (LCA)
- techno-economic analysis (tea)
- sustainable supply chains
- food quality and safety
- policy and governance for sustainability
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