Sustainable Development of Food Processing Systems

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to present an up-to-date overview of the development of sustainable and innovative food processing, engineering, and packaging. According to the OECD/FAO*, food demand will increase by 15% in the next decade due to population growth and globalization. To ensure food and nutrition security for all populations, sustainable food processing is an essential component of the food chain. Furthermore, sustainable food processing systems can help to achieve a better balance between food processing and resource utilization. Food processing should be cost-effective and efficient while simultaneously enhancing food quality and safety; as a result, food processors and manufacturers are being urged to design food processing systems that consider the global market, costs, and social and environmental factors. Food waste streams should be reduced via sustainable processing. Food waste has been a major concern in recent years, and food processing is one technique to address this critical issue in today's food system. These significant amounts of food waste are caused by improper food processing, product damage, and technological challenges at manufacturing plants. According to the WFP**, one third of all food produced for human use is lost or wasted worldwide. This equates to over 1.3 billion tons every year, with a market worth of nearly USD 1 trillion.

This Special Issue will highlight recent advances in sustainable food processing and engineering to improve food quality and safety while also reducing food waste. In this Special Issue on sustainable food processing, we encourage original research anchored in innovative food processing and engineering, value-added processing, and sustainable food processing adopted by food industries. We especially welcome contributions that discuss ways of increasing sustainability in all the major sectors of the food industry, challenges in processing and energy balance efforts in food industries, and food waste management. Original research papers, review articles, and short communications are welcome in this Special Issue.

* Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); ** World Food Programme (WFP)

Dr. Zeinab Mohammadi-Shad
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 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.

• food processing
• innovative and non-conventional techniques
• food waste management
• food safety and quality
• value-added processing
• food security
• packaging
• preservation
• emerging non-thermal food processing
• sustainable food chain system
• valorization of food waste and byproducts