Search Results (4,882)

Malnutrition and climate-induced stress remain major constraints to global food and nutritional security despite the yield gains of the Green Revolution. Solanaceae crops such as tomato, potato, brinjal, and pepper are key sources of vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds. Yet, their genetic improvement has been limited by narrow diversity and complex polygenic traits. The advent of CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing provides a transformative platform for precision crop improvement by enabling targeted modification of genes controlling stress tolerance, yield, and nutritional quality. In Solanaceae, CRISPR/Cas applications have successfully enhanced resistance against major pathogens (SlMlo1, SlPelo, SlDCL2), improved abiotic stress tolerance through editing of SlMAPK3, SlCBF1, and SlBZR1, and optimized fruit quality traits via modulation of Psy1, CrtR-b2, and fiAD2/3. Emerging innovations, such as base and prime editing, and RNP-mediated transgene-free delivery, are expanding the precision and scope of editing. However, challenges persist, including genotype-dependent transformation, low HDR efficiency, and incomplete understanding of off-target and epigenetic effects. Integrating CRISPR with omics-guided gene discovery, efficient transformation systems, and regulatory harmonization can accelerate the development of nutritionally enriched, stress-resilient, and sustainable Solanaceae varieties. This review synthesizes recent advances, identifies critical limitations, and outlines future opportunities for deploying CRISPR/Cas technology to achieve next-generation breeding and food system resilience. Full article

Developing stable plant-based probiotic beverages requires innovative formulation strategies. While chickpea aquafaba, a protein-containing by-product, shows promise for the development of functional foods, its specific application in probiotic matrices remains underexplored. This study evaluated a coconut-based probiotic beverage supplemented with aquafaba by monitoring viable cell counts, pH, sugar and organic acid profiles, and antioxidant activity during 30 days of refrigerated storage. A 2² full factorial experimental design was used to investigate the effects of aquafaba and sucrose concentrations on the viability of Lacticaseibacillus casei NRRL B-442. The selected formulation (30% aquafaba and 50 g/L sucrose) achieved the highest viable cell count after fermentation (9.88 ± 0.09 log CFU/mL), compared with 8.40 ± 0.07 log CFU/mL in the control (coconut). During 30 days of refrigerated storage, the formulation R4 maintained probiotic viability above the recommended functional threshold (>7.0 log CFU/mL), reaching 7.40 log CFU/mL at day 30, whereas the control (coconut) declined to 6.77 log CFU/mL. R4 formulation also exhibited a slower decline in pH (4.50 vs. 3.20 in the control (coconut) at day 30) and higher lactate concentration after fermentation (2.04 vs. 0.79 g/L). Carbohydrate profiling revealed sustained sucrose utilization during storage, while the control (coconut) showed early metabolic stabilization. Monte Carlo simulation estimated an 87.9% probability for R4 and 24.8% for the coconut control of meeting the predefined viability criterion of 7.0 log CFU/mL under the modeled storage conditions. R4 beverage maintained viable cell counts above the predefined criterion of 7.0 log CFU/mL throughout storage, unlike the control (coconut). These results emphasize that integrating formulation optimization with predictive microbiology and stochastic modeling is a key component for developing robust probiotic plant-based beverages. This approach provides a complementary framework for evaluating uncertainty in predicted probiotic viability under the evaluated storage conditions. Full article

Background: Smallholder farmers are at the forefront of climate change, necessitating dynamic, continuous adaptation strategies to safeguard their livelihoods and food systems. Although climate-smart technologies and indigenous knowledge are available, traditional top-down agricultural extension models often fall short in promoting inclusive, community-driven ownership, which is vital for long-term resilience. Objective: This paper investigates how effective knowledge brokering can augment the agricultural extension system—facilitating connections among researchers, extension agents, and smallholder farmers—to maintain climate resilience and foster inclusive, locally led adaptation (LLA). Methods: Drawing on the IDRC–Step Change SCALE project, implemented between August 2025 and May 2026, this study assesses the effect of targeted capacity-building interventions within the extension system. By employing active knowledge-brokering mechanisms such as safe-spaced KIIs, FGDs, co-creation workshops, and capacity-building workshops, the project enabled ongoing, bidirectional learning. This strategy ensured that scientific innovations were adapted into context-specific practices, while indigenous knowledge and local priorities directly influenced ongoing agricultural research. Pre- and post-intervention assessment scores were compared using paired-samples t-tests with exact Wilcoxon signed-rank confirmation, taking the knowledge area as the unit of analysis; differences between training rounds were tested by randomized complete block ANOVA with orthogonal country, phase, and country-by-phase contrasts; and qualitative data from KIIs and FGDs were analyzed thematically. Results: The findings indicate that knowledge brokering transforms the extension system into a responsive foundation for agricultural resilience. Key outcomes include a mean knowledge gain of 53.8 percentage points across the four capacity-strengthening rounds, from 26.5% pre-training to 80.3% post-training (95% CI 51.4 to 56.3; paired t(27) = 44.78, p < 0.001), with improvement recorded in all seven knowledge areas in all four rounds; sustained adoption of climate-adaptive technologies across 1042 participant attendances in Nigeria and Senegal; enhanced participation of marginalized groups, with women accounting for 568 attendances (54.5%) overall, though ranging from 38.9% to 60.2% between rounds; and a clear transition toward self-sustaining, locally led adaptation practices. Conclusions: To effectively confront climate uncertainty, agricultural extension must evolve from a mere information dissemination system into an interactive, knowledge-brokering network. Strengthening this system is a vital, scalable pathway to maintaining inclusive resilience in smallholder agriculture. Full article

Green innovations represent an important factor in the sustainable development and competitiveness of gastronomic tourism destinations. This study aims to examine the relationship between green innovations and the perceived sustainable competitiveness of gastronomic tourism destinations, while analyzing the mediating role of perceived gastronomic authenticity. The research was conducted on a sample of 245 stakeholders involved in the organization and implementation of five major gastronomic festivals in Serbia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and the proposed conceptual model was tested using the PLS-SEM method. The results indicate that green innovations are positively associated with perceived gastronomic authenticity and the perceived sustainable competitiveness of destinations. Furthermore, perceived gastronomic authenticity is positively associated with perceived sustainable competitiveness and mediates the relationship between green innovations and the perceived sustainable competitiveness of destinations. The findings suggest that the implementation of sustainable practices and the preservation of gastronomic authenticity are associated with stronger long-term sustainability and competitiveness of gastronomic tourism destinations, providing useful guidance for event organizers and tourism policymakers. Full article

Pre-treatment before drying is a crucial phase in food processing. This review highlights key traditional and innovative pre-treatment methods, focusing on their mechanisms of action at the cellular and tissue levels. This discourse examines innovative technologies with significant promise across various applications, as well as widely recognised methodologies. These include cold plasma, ultrasonication, pulsed electric fields, high-pressure processing, UV-C light, pulsed light, and coating techniques. It addresses biological components that act as barriers to mass transfer, thereby significantly influencing the efficiency of moisture evaporation. Understanding these interactions is crucial for optimising drying processes and enhancing the quality of dried food. Key pre-treatment parameters that affect outcomes are analysed and must be tailored to the specific characteristics of biological materials, which often require individualised adjustments. Each method is evaluated against goals like accelerated drying, microbiological purity, enzyme inactivation, and preservation of active components, emphasising the need for a targeted optimisation approach. The classification of biological materials into distinct categories has been proposed based on their structural and integumentary characteristics. The research outlines effective methodologies for each material type and pre-treatment purpose. This analysis also incorporates an economic perspective, considering the initial investment and operational costs of implementing the proposed methods. Full article

Fermented foods and beverages represent a cornerstone of Nigerian food culture, yet their scientific documentation remains fragmented, and their potential within global bioeconomy frameworks is largely unrealised. This review addresses two interrelated gaps: the absence of a comprehensive ethnogeographic analysis of Nigerian fermented foods that integrates ecological, cultural, and agricultural drivers of regional diversity, and the limited examination of these foods as models for circular bioeconomy development. Using a narrative synthesis of peer-reviewed literature spanning 1986–2025, we systematically map the distribution of fermented tuber, cereal, legume, dairy, and fruit products across Nigeria’s major geopolitical zones, demonstrating that agroecological endowment, ethnic composition, trade routes, and cross-cultural interactions shape regional variation. Beyond their socio-cultural significance, Nigerian fermented foods contribute meaningfully to food security by extending shelf life, enhancing nutrient bioavailability, and reducing post-harvest losses. This review further positions ogi (fermented maize gruel) and garri (fermented cassava granules) as model systems for circular bioeconomy integration, demonstrating how by-product valorisation can generate value-added outputs, including animal feed, bioethanol, biodegradable packaging, and organic acids. Key challenges, including food safety deficits, absence of standardised production protocols, and limited regulatory frameworks, are critically assessed. Three priority research directions are identified: metagenomics-based microbiome profiling, development of culturally appropriate starter cultures, and formulation of gender-responsive regulatory instruments. Nigerian fermented foods, properly documented and integrated into innovation systems, represent an underutilised asset for sustainable food system transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Full article

Artificial-intelligence-enabled agri-food entrepreneurship is the creation of new ventures and the entrepreneurial renewal of existing firms, whose value propositions and business models are built around learning-based computational systems applied across the food value chain, from primary production and processing to distribution, consumption, and the recovery of losses and by-products. The core enabling technologies are machine learning and computer vision, generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models, and AI-enabled robotics and predictive analytics, deployed with complementary digital infrastructure such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud and edge computing, blockchain, and digital twins. The concept is broader than technology adoption because its subject is the entrepreneur: how opportunities are recognised or created, how business models convert them into revenue, and why so few technically capable solutions become durable businesses. This entry makes four contributions: It specifies a mechanism—because AI lowers the cost of prediction but not of judgement, opportunities concentrate in decisions that are prediction-intensive, recurrent, and attached to an outcome that the customer already measures. It provides a taxonomy of business-model archetypes that separates value creation from value capture. It establishes the boundary conditions under which digital-entrepreneurship theory transfers to food systems—seasonality, fixed adoption costs, contested data governance, and liability. Finally, it converts the synthesis into seven testable propositions and an evidence calibration separating controlled benchmarks, field pilots, and commercial deployment. Full article

The transition toward more sustainable diets has increased interest in alternative protein sources, including plant-based meat substitutes, cultured meat, edible insects, microalgae, and microbial fermentation products. Their successful adoption depends not only on technological advances and market availability but also on consumer acceptance shaped by cultural, sensory, psychological, ethical, and socio-demographic factors. This narrative review synthesizes evidence on consumer acceptance of alternative proteins in Poland, a country characterized by strong culinary traditions, high attachment to meat, and selective openness to food innovation. The evidence base is fragmented and uneven across product categories. Plant-based alternatives are the most established but face barriers related to price, sensory expectations, perceived nutritional quality, and concerns about ultra-processing. Cultured meat shows moderate acceptance, limited by perceived unnaturalness, safety concerns, and low familiarity. Edible insects remain the least accepted due to disgust, food neophobia, and cultural barriers. Evidence on microalgae and mycoproteins is scarce, while consumer responses to fermentation-derived proteins are largely unexplored. Overall, acceptance varies by product type and requires targeted improvements, culturally sensitive communication, and more robust research. Full article

Pomaces, by-products from beverage industries, which are extremely rich in various bioactive compounds such as dietary fiber, polyphenolic compounds, carotenoids, etc., represent valuable sources of natural antioxidants. Due to their nutritional properties, innovative food products could be developed by incorporating pomace powders as potentially functional ingredients. In the present work, new dehydrated fruit-based products, known as fruit rolls or leathers, were developed from apples and bananas (2/1, w/w), with honey (2%), lemon juice (2%), and freeze-dried grape or sea buckthorn pomace powders (3%), without artificial sweeteners, preservatives, or hydrocolloids. Several physicochemical (moisture content, water activity, pH, CIE L*a*b*) and chemical (total phenolic and carotenoid contents) parameters were investigated both for pomace powders and developed fruit rolls. Moreover, the prepared fruit rolls were evaluated in terms of sensorial characteristics using a seven-point hedonic scale. The samples obtained by incorporation of freeze-dried pomace powders exhibited increased values of the total phenolic content (86.54 and 95.77 mg GAE/g d.m.) compared to the control sample (59.62 mg GAE/g d.m.). Sensory evaluation with twenty untrained panelists indicated good acceptability, with mean scores above 6.00. The addition of freeze-dried pomace powders improved the visual attributes, the appearance and color of the corresponding fruit rolls receiving slightly higher scores compared to the control. The newly developed fruit rolls with freeze-dried grape or sea buckthorn pomace powders could represent a tasty, interesting alternative for sweet snacks. Full article

Fermentation is a longstanding preservation process used in meat manufacture to improve product stability, safety and sensory quality. Renewed interest in fermented meats has stimulated research into reformulation and processing strategies intended to address concerns associated with salt, nitrate, nitrite, smoke-derived contaminants and animal fat while maintaining effective fermentation and product quality. This narrative review critically examines current innovations in fermented meat manufacture, including the replacement or reduction of conventional preservatives, smoking alternatives, fat reformulation, functional starter cultures, probiotics, prebiotics and bacteriocins. Developments in non-thermal and accelerated processing, edible and active packaging, intelligent monitoring systems and emerging culture-development technologies are also considered. Evidence indicates that selected functional cultures and formulation strategies can support preservative reduction, microbial control, curing, oxidative stability and sensory development, although their effectiveness is strain-, product- and process-dependent. Several processing and packaging technologies offer additional possibilities for improving manufacturing efficiency, shelf-life management and product safety, but their validation in fermented meat systems varies considerably. Potential environmental benefits, including reduced refrigeration, shorter processing or extended shelf life, cannot be assumed to confer lower overall environmental impacts and require comparative assessment of energy use, material inputs, food-waste effects and life-cycle performance. Future development should therefore prioritise product-specific validation, integrated hurdle-system assessment, regulatory compliance, consumer acceptance and comparative environmental evaluation. Full article

Citrus processing generates massive volumes of citrus-processing by-products rich in polyphenols, pectin, and essential oils, yet most of these materials are disposed of with low-value utilization, causing biomass loss and environmental pressure. Physical-assisted extraction techniques represent promising strategies for recovering high-value bioactive components from citrus-processing by-products. This narrative review assesses mainstream conventional and physical-assisted extraction routes (acid-assisted, ultrasound-assisted, microwave-assisted, and supercritical CO₂ extraction) for phenolic compounds, pectin, and essential oils derived from citrus-processing by-products, summarizes optimal operational parameters, and compares their downstream food, biomaterial, and environmental remediation applications. Key findings demonstrate that ultrasound- and microwave-assisted extraction generally deliver higher extraction yields and better preservation of thermally sensitive bioactives relative to conventional reflux extraction; nevertheless, industrial-scale translation faces multiple bottlenecks, including high equipment investment, raw-material seasonal variability, incomplete solvent-recovery workflows, and scarce unified multi-dimensional evaluation benchmarks. Major limitations of existing research include the predominant focus on laboratory-scale yield optimization, with insufficient systematic quantitative comparisons covering energy consumption, product functional quality, life-cycle assessment (LCA), and techno-economic performance. Furthermore, thermal-driven oxidative degradation of d-limonene and polyphenols persists as a critical challenge hindering final product quality. Future perspectives highlight the need to establish standardized raw-material pretreatment protocols, combine chemical-based evaluation metrics and ISO 14040-compliant LCA frameworks to balance environmental benefits and economic profitability, and advance pilot-scale validation for hybrid coupled extraction processes. Key conclusions: although citrus-processing by-products possess enormous biorefinery potential, bridging laboratory-scale feasibility and industrial commercialization still requires joint progress in extraction-process optimization, safety validation, and circular-economy-oriented technical innovation. Full article

Background: Iodine is an essential micronutrient required for foetal development, cognitive function, and metabolic regulation; however, suboptimal iodine status remains a public health concern in Europe and other regions. Improving food literacy related to iodine may support healthier dietary choices during adolescence, a critical life stage for establishing long-term habits. This intervention development study describes the development of The ABC of Iodine Teaching Programme within the EUthyroid2 project, designed to enhance iodine-related knowledge and awareness among adolescents aged 13–17 years across six regions (UK, Republic of Cyprus, Slovenia, Germany, Bangladesh, and Pakistan). Methods: The intervention was developed according to the Behaviour Change Wheel, targeting capability, opportunity, and motivation, and informed by guidance for complex interventions. The programme was comprised of three flexible, culturally adapted modules integrating lectures on iodine physiology, deficiency risks, WHO recommendations, and locally relevant dietary sources. Active learning strategies, including collaborative tasks and personalised feedback through an Iodine Feedback Tool, were included. Materials were translated and adapted to local contexts and implemented in a hybrid format combining printed booklets with QR-linked digital resources. Results: The primary outcome of the intervention development process was The ABC of Iodine Teaching Programme, a multi-component, scalable educational intervention aligned with principles of food literacy, active learning and behaviour change theory. It incorporated behaviour change techniques and context-specific adaptations to facilitate engagement and knowledge acquisition in school settings. The programme is currently under evaluation in participating regions. Conclusions: This study presents the systematic development of a complex teaching programme. By combining behaviour change theory with innovative and context-sensitive educational strategies, The ABC of Iodine Teaching Programme provides a flexible and scalable framework for improving iodine-related food literacy among adolescents. Its effectiveness will be determined through the ongoing evaluation studies. Full article

In horticulture, a delayed shipment or failed food-safety check can rapidly cut off market access, yet strategic risk management remains weakly developed. This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI), agritech, and business model innovation can reduce uncertainty and strengthen resilience across horticultural value chains. Using a structured conceptual review, it integrates six literature streams: agricultural risk, supply-chain risk management, strategic and enterprise risk management, farming-system resilience, digital innovation and AI, and business model innovation. The synthesis connects risk exposure to five digital functions (sensing, predicting, verifying, coordinating, and deciding) to dynamic capabilities, business model and governance conditions, and resilience outcomes. It develops five connected propositions concerning the conversion of information into action, credible digital verification, adoption conditions, market-access resilience, and business-model-enabled shared capability. Market-access resilience is introduced as the capacity to maintain or restore verified quality, food-safety assurance, traceability, compliance, and buyer relationships during disruption. The propositions are theoretically derived and empirically informed, providing a foundation for further empirical validation, particularly of the complete market-access and business model relationships. The findings imply that digital technologies contribute to resilience only when supported by coordinated action, sound data governance, human oversight, and viable, inclusive delivery models. Full article

Amid rising population pressure, heightened volatility in international markets, and increasingly binding domestic resource and environmental constraints, safeguarding food security while maintaining ecological security has become a salient policy and academic concern in China. Within this context, our study investigates whether and how green finance contributes to the dual security of food and ecology. Building on a theoretical analytical framework, we elaborate on the functional role of green finance and empirically assess its effects using provincial panel data from China. We construct a composite index to gauge the level of green finance development and then employ a two-way fixed-effects model with province and year fixed effects to identify the overall impact of green finance, followed by a mediation model to uncover the underlying transmission mechanisms and sub-sample regressions to examine heterogeneity. The empirical evidence indicates that, while green finance significantly improves the dual security of food and ecology, substantial heterogeneity is observed, with stronger effects in southern regions, major grain-producing functional areas, and plain regions. Mechanism analyses further show that green finance advances dual security through three primary channels of agricultural structure adjustment, planting specialization, and agricultural green technological innovation, among which shifts in agricultural production structure, greater centralization of planting, and enhanced agricultural green innovation capacity constitute the dominant transmission mechanisms. By integrating food security and ecological security within a unified framework, we clarify the multidimensional pathways through which green finance supports sustainable agricultural development and provide new empirical evidence on how financial instruments can reconcile production and environmental objectives. Full article