Recent Advancements in Food Processing Technologies for Enhancing Food Quality

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2026 | Viewed by 1288

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
Interests: food and agricultural processing; food extrusion technology; numerical simulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With global consumers demanding higher standards for health, nutrition, safety, taste, and sustainability in food, advanced food processing technologies are gaining prominence for their ability to enhance functional properties, modify microstructure, and improve overall product quality.

The current research frontier has shifted from solely pursuing production efficiency to the precise and intelligent regulation of product quality. This requires a deep understanding of the multidimensional changes (rheological, reaction kinetics, and morphological) of raw material components (proteins, starch, dietary fiber, etc.) during food processing, including ultrasound, 3D printing, pelleting, super-grinding, drying, and extrusion. By leveraging innovative food structure modification techniques (including chemical and enzymatic modification, gelation, and fiberization), novel ingredient applications (e.g., insect protein, single-cell protein, and novel starches), and intelligent control technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and online monitoring), the on-demand design of key attributes in the final product—such as texture, nutrient retention, digestibility, flavor, and morphology—can be realized.

This Special Issue aims to gather the latest research from scientists worldwide to explore fundamental theoretical innovations and cutting-edge applications in food processing technology, with a focused discussion on quality regulation strategies to advance the scientific development and industrial upgrading of this field.

Dr. Qi Zhang
Dr. Min Wu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • extrusion
  • CFD simulation
  • food quality
  • intelligent manufacturing
  • food processing technology
  • structure modification
  • nutrient retention
  • quality control
  • drying
  • printing

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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29 pages, 23134 KB  
Article
Regulating Extruded Expanded Food Quality Through Extrusion Die Geometry and Processing Parameters
by Qi Zhang, Runzhe Zhang, Junjie Gong, Wenguang Wei, Lela Susilawati and Zhichao Li
Foods 2026, 15(1), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15010078 - 26 Dec 2025
Viewed by 645
Abstract
Quality regulation of extruded expanded foods represents a critical technological challenge in this field. Current research has predominantly focused on the impact of extrusion processing parameters, largely overlooking the regulatory role of die structure. This study presents an integrated “CFD + Extrusion Process” [...] Read more.
Quality regulation of extruded expanded foods represents a critical technological challenge in this field. Current research has predominantly focused on the impact of extrusion processing parameters, largely overlooking the regulatory role of die structure. This study presents an integrated “CFD + Extrusion Process” methodology to systematically explore the effects of die design and process conditions on expanded product quality. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations evaluated the influence of nozzle number (12–15) and L/D ratio (1.25–2.5) on flow uniformity, the CFD results identified an optimal die configuration of 14 nozzles with L/D = 1.25, which minimized flow variance (velocity variance: 1.09 × 10−5 (m/s)2; viscosity variance: 2.777 (Pa·s)2) and established a stable flow foundation. Building on this, the RSM-based experiments revealed how process parameters specifically fine-tune quality attributes: screw speed and moisture content significantly (p < 0.05) affected Water Absorption Index (WAI) and Water Solubility Index (WSI), whereas moisture and temperature were the dominant factors (p < 0.05) governing bulk density and starch gelatinization. The findings of this study can provide a theoretical reference for the precise control of the quality of expanded food products. Full article
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Review

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27 pages, 1307 KB  
Review
Optimizing Wheat Milling By-Products: An Overview of Processing Techniques
by Reham Ahmed Khashaba, Haiwei Lou, Yue Li, Saeed Hamid Saeed Omer, Xunda Wang, Zhonghua Gu and Renyong Zhao
Foods 2026, 15(6), 1085; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15061085 - 20 Mar 2026
Viewed by 279
Abstract
The increasing demand for novel and healthy food options is largely driven by the rise in lifestyle diseases and the global challenges of climate change. Annually, wheat by-products (WBP) production surpasses 150 million tons, with an anticipated growth of 10 million tons per [...] Read more.
The increasing demand for novel and healthy food options is largely driven by the rise in lifestyle diseases and the global challenges of climate change. Annually, wheat by-products (WBP) production surpasses 150 million tons, with an anticipated growth of 10 million tons per year from 2021 to 2027. This surge has attracted researchers’ interest in leveraging WBP as sustainable food resources that promote human health. This review evaluates the effects of thermal and emerging nonthermal processing technologies on WBP, focusing on enzyme activity, antinutritional factors, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and functional properties. Notably, thermal degradation poses significant challenges due to the heat sensitivity of WBP’s nutritional components. Therefore, nonthermal techniques like high-intensity ultrasound, radiofrequency, and cold plasma are being explored for their potential to enhance nutritional quality and extend shelf life. Further investigation is crucial to comprehensively understand the effects of these innovative treatments on WBP. Such research could facilitate the incorporation of treated WBP into the food industry, leading to new health-promoting products. Full article
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