Recent Advances and Insights in Storage, Spoilage and Shelf Life of Foods

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit an original research article to this Topic, entitled “Recent advances and insights in Storage, spoilage and shelf life of foods.” Biological materials inherently deteriorate and spoil with the passage of time. The amount of deterioration and spoilage cannot be completely checked; however, it is necessary to slow this rate of deterioration and spoilage as much as possible through processing, storage and handling. A dependable/consistent food supply plays a major role in food security and sustainable food systems. Agricultural production has received considerable attention in maintaining food security and sustainability, but food storage, spoilage and shelf life, which play major roles in sustainability and food security, have received much less attention. Food spoilage by various agents/means during storage is a major concern for the food industry. However, most spoilage of food meant for consumption is caused by microorganisms, which effectively compete with humans for valuable food resources. Microorganism contamination during storage and certain pathogens are mainly responsible for this type of spoilage. Oxidation is also another major cause of degradation of materials and foods. Natural and safe chemicals can be applied to food contamination and deterioration. In addition, reducing food loss and waste is critical for creating a zero hunger world. Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls for halving the amount of per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030. The goal of food scientists in particular is to ensure the sustainable supply of agricultural commodities that are provided for the nutritional requirements of consumers and to reduce food waste. In this Topic, we invite experts to submit research or review articles that are related to food spoilage and shelf life. This should include recent advances in this inter-disciplinary field (agriculture, food science, food engineering, material science, chemistry and microbiology) along with any relevant updates in food regulatory policies that are already in place. Topics will include advances in research toward preventing food spoilage, enhancing shelf life and monitoring conditions during storage. Other related topics that could be included are as follows:

• Interdisciplinary insights and technologies for preventing food spoilage;
• Biological threats to food during handling, storage and transportation;
• Shelf-life determinants;
• Spoilage reduction and improvement in safety in the food supply chain;
• Adulterant and contaminant detection;
• Early detection;
• Shelf-life prediction and simulation models;
• Risk management and assessment.

Prof. Dr. Salam A. Ibrahim
Dr. Sulaiman Omar Aljaloud
Dr. B. N. Dar
Dr. Ammar Al-Temimi
Topic Editors