Fresh foods, including plant and animal resources, are naturally rich in nutrients; however, they are susceptible to deterioration during transport and storage due to chemical changes, enzymatic, and microbiological activities, resulting in a short shelf-life. To meet the demands of consumer health and nutrition, there is a pressing need to develop innovative food preservation technologies that minimize nutrition and sensory loss during storage.
Conventional food preservation methods, such as sterilization or pasteurization have inherent limitations, mainly because of their negative effects on taste, texture, and loss of the bioavailability of nutrients. For example, high temperature processing methods, like sterilization, can degrade heat-sensitive vitamins and enzymes present in the food, leading to a reduction in the nutritional value of preserved foods compared to fresh ones. Moreover, traditional preservation methods may not effectively combat heat-resistant bacteria and spores, posing risks of foodborne illnesses and spoilage.
This special issue encourages researchers to submit Original Research and Review manuscripts highlighting the implementation of innovative and emerging food preservation technology to minimize the quality changes during processing, transportation and storage in comparison with traditional approaches. Specifically, researchers working on the development of novel food preservation techniques, process design, and optimization to address issues related to food property changes induced by processing are encouraged. Understanding the microstructural features and their relationship to in vitro/in vivo functionality is also encouraged. The special issue encompasses a wide array of topics, including but not limited to the following themes:
(1) Recent development of novel food preservation techniques, such as nonthermal sterilization approaches (e.g., high pressure processing, plasma sterilization), as well as their mechanisms in inhibiting of enzymes and microbiological activities at molecular levels;
(2) The process design and optimization with selected parameters, particularly highlighting the increased efficiency by the use of emerging techniques in comparison with traditional approaches;
(3) Novel freezing and thawing techniques to improve the quality of frozen and thawed food products in industrial practice;
(4) Comprehensive investigation of processes-induced quality changes;
(5) Technological advancements in bacterial spore inactivation using chemicophysical combination approaches.
Dr. Feng’s research interests focus on Food Chemistry, particularly Functional Food and Food Flavors. His current research focuses on mechanisms and pathways of characteristic flavor formations in muscle products; separation and utilization of value-added components from food, and development of functional components from foods. He has published 60+ peer-reviewed and 5 book chapter. He is extensively involved with the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). Currently, he is serving as an editorial board member in Food Research International, and reviewing manuscripts in different high-quality journals including Food Chemistry, Food Research International, Poultry Science, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture and Food Science & Nutrition. He has extensive experience training undergraduate and graduate students in laboratory and field settings. Link: https://www.sjsu.edu/nufspkg/about-us/faculty-and-staff-directory/index.php
Dr. Xia’s research interests are to use innovative food processing technology to improve food quality and food safety. He has published 80+ peer-reviewed articles in well-known journals, such as Bioresource Technology, Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, Trends in Food Science & Technology, Food Hydrocolloids, Current Opinion in Food Science, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Food Chemistry, Food Control, LWT, Food Research International, Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, etc. Dr. Xia also serves as an editorial board member in the Journal of Food Research International, Food and Humanity and the Current Food Science and Technology Reports as well as an associate editor in the Frontiers in Nutrition. Link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Qiang-Xia-7
