Oleosins, the predominant structural proteins that stabilize plant oil bodies, are increasingly recognized as major allergens in oilseed crops. This review examines how thermal processing hierarchically remodels oleosin structure from primary sequence to quaternary assembly, integrating structural biology, thermodynamics, and immunology to establish a causal chain linking thermal energy input to immunological outcomes. Central to this framework is the identification of a "thermal vulnerability code" embedded within oleosins, comprising two universally conserved core elements-the proline-knot hydrogen network and hydrophobic clusters within the central hydrophobic domain-and a facultative third element, conserved disulfide bonds present in a subset of oleosins. Disruption of these elements shapes the trajectory of structural remodeling, leading either to allergenicity attenuation through the destruction of conformational epitopes or to allergenicity potentiation through the exposure of cryptic linear epitopes. This framework provides a molecular roadmap for precision thermal processing, offering actionable strategies for developing safer oilseed‑based foods and establishing a new paradigm for plant allergen mitigation.
Climate change has emerged as a major global public health challenge, and its impact on allergic diseases, particularly food allergy, has received increasing attention. It enhances allergic exposure risks through multiple pathways, including alterations in the expression of allergenic proteins, shifts in the geographic distribution of allergenic species, increased allergenic microbial pollution, and changes in pollen exposure patterns that may exacerbate allergic responses. Furthermore, climate change could elevate individual susceptibility to food allergy via diverse biological mechanisms, such as impairment of host barrier integrity, disruption of immune tolerance homeostasis, and perturbations in early-life developmental processes. Additionally, climate change-induced loss of microbial and dietary diversity further promotes allergy sensitization, whereas the transition to plant-rich sustainable diets may bring additional allergy risks. This review systematically summarizes these potential mechanisms by which climate change elevates food allergy risks, aiming to provide a basis for food safety risk assessment and the development of scientific, targeted preventive strategies against allergic diseases in the context of ongoing global climate change.
The growing environmental burden of petroleum-based plastics and the underutilization of seafood-processing residues have intensified interest in renewable materials for sustainable food packaging. Among marine by-products, shrimp-processing waste, including shells, heads, and tails, represents a particularly valuable biomass because it contains chitin, proteins, minerals, lipids, and carotenoids such as astaxanthin. This review critically examines shrimp as integrated feedstocks for the development of biodegradable and active food packaging films. This review discusses the generation and biochemical composition of shrimp residues, recent advances in the extraction of key functional constituents, and their subsequent conversion into film-forming materials. Particular attention is given to conventional and emerging green extraction approaches, including enzymatic treatments, ultrasound-assisted and microwave-assisted processes, and deep eutectic solvent systems, as well as their effects on polymer purity, molecular structure, and film performance. This review further evaluates formulation strategies and the resulting mechanical, barrier, thermal, optical, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and biodegradation properties of shrimp-derived films. Current evidence indicates that shrimp-based biopolymers, especially chitosan and protein-based systems, offer strong potential for application in the active packaging of highly perishable foods. However, moisture sensitivity, brittleness, raw material variability, processing cost, and scale-up limitations remain major barriers to commercialization. Overall, shrimp-processing by-products provide a promising platform for circular, value-added packaging innovation, and future progress will depend on greener recovery methods, multifunctional film design, and scalable manufacturing routes that meet food safety and industrial performance requirements.
Animal fat-based triacylglycerols contribute unique texture to foods, but their excessive intake poses health risks. Therefore, developing fat replacers that can mimic the plasticity and melting properties of animal triacylglycerols has emerged as a key challenge in soft matter research. In this context, bigels are promising fat replacers due to their comparable thermal and rheological properties. However, they undergo phase inversion modulated by the oil-to-water ratio and gelator concentration/type, which determines their final microstructure, namely oil-in-water (O/W), bi-continuous, and water-in-oil (W/O). Clarifying the structure-function relationship is critical for designing bigels as animal fat replacers. This review presents the formation of bigels, while also indicating the factors that control their phase inversion. Moreover, the physicochemical properties, long-term stability, and in vitro digestion behavior of phase inversion-induced bigels are compared, and current applications of these bigels are presented. Finally, this review summarizes promising research directions for developing bigels as advanced fat replacers. The key conclusions are as follows. First, hydrogelator assembly is driven by intermolecular interactions (e.g., hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic association). The structure and mechanical strength are determined by oleogelator crystallization and 3D network formation. The interface between the two phases is stabilized by emulsifiers. Second, with phase inversion induced by the oil-to-water ratio, W/O systems exhibit enhanced mechanical properties and low free fatty acid release, while O/W systems exhibit superior oxidative and freeze-thaw stability. Finally, W/O systems are predicted to be suitable for meat products, O/W systems for bakery products, and bi-continuous systems for 3D-printed foods.
Food shrinkage and morphological distortion during processing and storage are major causes of quality deterioration, affecting appearance, texture, internal structure, and consumer acceptance. These deformations arise from complex couplings among moisture migration, heat and mass transfer, and matrix mechanical evolution, making accurate prediction and regulation highly challenging using conventional empirical approaches. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) provide new opportunities for intelligent morphology analysis and control in food systems. This review systematically summarizes the current progress of AI-enabled shrinkage characterization, predictive modeling, and intelligent regulation in food processing. First, the multiphysics mechanisms governing shrinkage formation and morphological evolution are critically discussed. Subsequently, a multimodal perception framework integrating visual imaging, acoustic sensing, spectral analysis, and microstructural imaging is presented for comprehensive characterization of appearance, texture, and internal structural changes. The review further evaluates the evolution of shrinkage modeling from traditional machine learning to deep learning and physics-informed neural networks (PINNs), highlighting their capabilities and current limitations in mechanism interpretability and cross-domain generalization. In addition, representative intelligent regulation pathways, including visual feedback closed-loop control, multiobjective optimization, smart pretreatment, active packaging, and programmable physical field intervention, are systematically analyzed. Finally, future trends involving multimodal data fusion, digital twins, edge computing, and AI-driven active morphology design are discussed. This review provides a comprehensive theoretical and technological framework for the intelligent transformation of food morphology engineering and precision food manufacturing.
With the recent introduction of the European Union's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in February 2025, reusable plastic packaging schemes have gained increasing attention as a more circular and sustainable alternative to single-use plastics (SUPs). However, a major barrier to the widescale adoption of these schemes lies in ensuring effective sanitization and disinfection after each reuse cycle. The risk of cross-contamination between use cycles presents the hazard of foodborne illness, which could undermine consumer trust and result in nonengagement with such systems. Antimicrobial surfaces represent a promising solution for enhancing the microbial safety and improving the cleanability of reusable packaging. These surfaces are designed to inhibit the growth and survival of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi that contribute to food spoilage and foodborne illness. Their integration into packaging systems could potentially improve consumer confidence and accelerate adoption by facilitating easier sanitization and reducing the risk of microbial cross-contamination. A range of strategies exists for fabricating antimicrobial surfaces, broadly categorized into chemical and physical approaches, each with distinct advantages and limitations in the context of food packaging. This review critically examines the functionality of these surface types and evaluates their potential for reusable food packaging applications.
Lipase activity in grains is a critical factor limiting the shelf-life of whole-grain flours and brans. Inside intact kernels, lipase and its substrates are separated by structural barriers. Once lipase is in contact with the substrate (triacylglycerols, TAGs) after milling, it hydrolyzes TAGs into free fatty acids (FFAs), and the grain matrices become rancid, a condition known as hydrolytic rancidity. Further oxidation of FFAs produces aldehydes and ketones, generating off-flavors and compromising sensory quality and product acceptability. This review consolidates recent advances in lipase inactivation using various thermal, nonthermal, ozone exposure, and salt conditioning across different grain matrices. Superheated steam and atmospheric cold plasma were the most effective thermal and nonthermal treatments, respectively, achieving 100% and 97% lipase inactivation in wheat, while salt conditioning provided only partial activity (55%) suppression. The extent of inactivation depends on the matrices and grain type, treatment type, and intensity. Lipase inactivation kinetics were described using first, fractional, and nth-order models, and the rate constants (k, min-1) were compared across treatments and grain types. The effects of residual lipase activity and storage stability of lipids in grain-based matrices were evaluated using mixed correlation and multivariate analyses. The unifying mechanistic outcome was disruption of the lipase lid domain and catalytic triad, and changes in conformational structures, though the reversibility of these structural changes varied across treatments. Thus, this review provides a cross-grain comparative framework to guide the design of grain-specific lipase stabilization strategies for producing shelf-stable whole-grain flour and bran products.
Microbial communities serve as metabolic engines that determine the flavor and bioactivity of traditional fermented foods. Nonetheless, the stochastic nature of spontaneous fermentation often leads to niche uncertainty, resulting in inconsistent product quality and unstable functional expression. Transitioning traditional, empirically driven fermentation processes into precisely controllable modern biomanufacturing systems therefore requires an urgent paradigm shift from passive observation to active ecological engineering. In this review, we propose niche construction as a core strategy for the directional manipulation of microbial community assembly. We systematically examine the major dimensions of ecological niches in fermentation systems, including resource, environmental, spatial, and biotic niches, and further discuss how their temporal dynamics regulate microbial community assembly through dispersal, selection, ecological drift, and diversification. In addition, we assess specific engineering strategies based on niche construction, including the precise design of raw material substrates and the dynamic feedback regulation of fermentation parameters. Niche construction can reduce assembly stochasticity by guiding microorganisms from the occupation of available realized niches toward the expression of desired functional niches, thereby stabilizing flavor formation, bioactive metabolite production, and safety-related functions. Looking ahead, we explore the integration of artificial intelligence with multi-omics approaches for real-time niche prediction and the use of 3D printing to create spatially structured substrates, thereby enabling the precise manipulation of microbial spatial niches.
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are important functional bioactive components of human milk. Fucosylated HMOs (FHMOs) represent a major subclass, accounting for approximately 35%-50% of total HMOs, and have attracted increasing attention in infant nutrition and health. Current evidence indicates that FHMOs play important roles in shaping the infant gut microbiota, modulating host-microbe interactions, supporting intestinal barrier function, and maintaining immune and metabolic homeostasis. However, their commercialization still faces several challenges, including high production costs, difficulties in the scalable manufacture of structurally complex members, uneven functional evidence across individual compounds, incomplete safety and regulatory evaluation frameworks, and the need to further validate processing stability and application performance in final products. From an industrial perspective, microbial fermentation has become the main production route for 2'-fucosyllactose and 3-fucosyllactose, whereas the large-scale production of more structurally complex or low-abundance FHMOs remains technically and economically challenging. Regulatory approvals in major markets indicate acceptable safety at authorized use levels, but uncertainties remain regarding long-term intake, vulnerable infant populations, matrix-dependent stability, and the combined use of multiple HMOs. This review summarizes recent advances in the structural characteristics, biological functions, production technologies, safety assessment, regulatory status, and commercial applications of FHMOs, with emphasis on 2'-fucosyllactose, 3-fucosyllactose, and selected structurally related members. It also discusses commercialization challenges and future research priorities to support their responsible application in infant nutrition.
Agricultural by-products are increasingly valorized as food ingredients within circular food systems. However, their safety cannot be directly inferred from their corresponding primary commodities. Moreover, agricultural by-products serve as secondary risk matrices by acting as reservoirs or accumulation points for microbiological hazards, mycotoxins, pesticide residues, heavy metals, process-related contaminants, other organic contaminants, including PAHs and mineral oil hydrocarbons, and allergenic compounds. This occurs during field exposure, processing-driven redistribution, and storage. Hence, the safety and sustainability of by-product-derived ingredients require matrix-specific evaluation. Therefore, this study aims to provide a comprehensive and structured assessment of agricultural by-products as food-relevant matrices. Accordingly, this review integrated evidence using a two-tier literature approach that combined broad literature mapping of agricultural by-product valorization with a targeted safety-focused analysis of peer-reviewed studies. The primary focus was hazard occurrence, contaminant fate during processing, mitigation strategies, and regulatory considerations governing the use of agricultural by-products in food systems. Particular emphasis was placed on the processing-driven redistribution of contaminants, matrix-dependent variability, multi-contaminant co-occurrence, and limitations of regulatory frameworks originally developed for primary commodities. This review highlights that addressing current gaps in exposure assessment, mitigation validation, and regulatory alignment is critical for the safe integration of these by-products into circular food systems.
Dietary starch varies in digestion rate: Rapidly digestible fractions cause sharp postprandial glucose spikes linked to chronic disease, whereas slowly digestible starch (SDS) breaks down gradually, producing a moderate glycemic response. Increasing SDS content is therefore a key objective in developing carbohydrate-rich foods with improved metabolic functionality. Physical, enzymatic, and combined modification strategies have been reported to enhance SDS, but outcomes are often inconsistent, with the same treatment increasing SDS under some conditions while favoring rapidly digestible or resistant fractions under others. The structural basis of this variability, and how conditions can be adjusted to reliably favor SDS formation, remains insufficiently synthesized. This review compiles studies reporting quantified SDS increases relative to unmodified controls following physical, enzymatic, and combined strategies, linking these changes to structural and functional transformations, and addressing conditions under which SDS declines. SDS formation is positioned as crystallization arrested at nucleation, distinct from the chain maturation yielding resistant starch, with chain length, branching density, and granule or matrix architecture governing the balance among SDS, resistant, and rapidly digestible fractions. These insights, together with strategies for recovering SDS when treatments underperform, aim to inform rational design of starch-based foods with tailored digestibility for glycemic management and to help close the gap between laboratory-scale research and commercial translation.
The escalating generation of global vegetable waste represents a critical loss of bioactive resources, necessitating a paradigm shift from passive disposal to active nutrient upcycling. However, the industrial conversion of this heterogeneous biomass into standardized functional food ingredients is currently impeded by significant techno-economic barriers, primarily structural recalcitrance, compositional inconsistency, and the presence of toxic fermentation inhibitors. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the synergistic application of microbial engineering and artificial intelligence (AI) to resolve these bioprocessing bottlenecks within a food-to-food closed-loop framework (as shown in the graphical abstract). We evaluate recent advances in engineering food-grade microbial chassis (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli) to enhance lignocellulose degradation and stress tolerance. Concurrently, we examine the integration of AI across the entire value chain, covering deep learning-based rational enzyme design, genome-scale metabolic modeling, and intelligent process control for precision fermentation. Current evidence demonstrates that the hardware-software coupling of engineered strains and AI algorithms significantly enhances conversion efficiency and process robustness. Key findings highlight that AI-driven Design-Build-Test-Learn cycles facilitate the de novo creation of enzymes with superior kinetics and strains with adaptive stress response capabilities against toxins. Moreover, dynamic digital twin models effectively mitigate the impact of substrate variability, ensuring the batch-to-batch consistency required for food applications. We conclude that this data-driven synergistic paradigm is pivotal for establishing a resilient circular bioeconomy, enabling the reliable bioconversion of waste into high-value single-cell proteins, natural flavor additives, and sustainable packaging materials.
Ethylene oxide (EO) has re-emerged as a major food safety concern, with findings in spices, sesame, dried vegetables, food additives, and composite foods revealing persistent gaps between toxicological hazard, analytical detectability, and regulatory interpretation. In current food control practice, 2-chloroethanol (2-CE) is often the dominant analyte because parent EO is highly volatile and reactive; however, the scientific basis for treating 2-CE as a surrogate for EO remains contested. This review examines EO-related residues through three integrated lenses: the chemistry and toxicological significance of EO and its reaction products, the analytical determination and interpretation of residues across food matrices, and the international regulatory divergence that hinders harmonization. Evidence indicates that EO itself is a compound of clear toxicological concern, whereas 2-CE is better understood as a policy-relevant marker of EO-related chemistry whose meaning depends on matrix context, processing history, and regulatory purpose. Processed and composite foods intensify this challenge by weakening the link between analytical findings and source attribution. Overall, EO is not simply a residue monitoring issue but an interpretive problem created by the misalignment of hazard assessment, marker-based analytics, and regulatory decision-making. Progress will require clearer toxicological positioning of 2-CE, matrix-specific analytical reporting, structured source attribution frameworks, and closer alignment between national control systems and international standard-setting efforts.
Sunflower seed oil, recognized as a significant edible oil, has emerged as a focal point in contemporary research owing to its unique nutritional composition and functional attributes. In recent years, substantial advancements have been made in intelligent quality assessment methodologies for raw materials, novel extraction technologies, and targeted investigations of constituents. This review systematically analyzes the mechanisms and applications of the basic quality of sunflower seed raw materials, conventional oil extraction techniques, emerging preparation technologies (aqueous enzymatic method), and auxiliary processes (microwave/ultrasound/pulsed electric field-assisted extraction). It focuses on elucidating the structural characteristics of nutrients such as triglycerides and fatty acids in sunflower seed oil and the distribution of flavor and bioactive components, as well as the novel formation mechanisms of potential harmful substances, and summarizes its high-value applications in the food industry while clarifying the development directions for industrial innovation. The precise characterization of sunflower seeds attributes was accomplished through an integrated "intelligent representation-quality analysis-suitability assessment" framework. Contemporary oil extraction technology has evolved into a diversified paradigm encompassing "green upgrading of traditional processes, breakthroughs in emerging technologies, and synergistic auxiliary technologies." The biosynthetic pathways of bioactive constituents, formation mechanisms of harmful substances, and critical regulatory nodes have been systematically identified, demonstrating their substantial potential across diverse application domains. This article endeavors to provide rigorous theoretical foundations for breakthroughs in fundamental research and the industrial transformation of sunflower seed oil, thereby facilitating high-quality innovative development within the industry.
The current trend of individualized food items (nutrient content and flavor) can be particularly valuable to support people's health and well-being in isolated environments where access to fresh foods and diverse nutrition is difficult. At the same time, bioactive compounds and micronutrients can be employed to countermeasure any health hazards characteristic for the respective environment. Outer space is well-known as a hazardous environment due to microgravity, space radiation, and extreme living situation, whereas food monotony has led to insufficient caloric intake in the past. We are proposing to adapt the current trends of fortification and personalization for a novel space food system to support astronaut's health and increase food choice. Beverages as food matrix allow straightforward adjustment of their composition, whereas beverage emulsions as formulation strategy allow encapsulation of hydrophobic ingredients. This literature review gives an overview of food and beverage fortification on Earth, current and in-development space food systems, common space health risks with the potential to be attenuated by nutrition/supplementation, as well as bioactive compounds potentially suitable for beverage fortification. Finally, a process concept is presented that could enable in-space manufacturing of beverages for future space travel.
Fusarium species cause yield losses in wheat production through fusarium head blight (FHB) and the associated contamination of regulated mycotoxins, such as trichothecenes and zearalenone. Despite the widespread use of PCR-based molecular approaches for Fusarium detection, quantification, and chemotyping, most primers were developed prior to both modern phylogenetic reclassification and the availability of high-quality genome assemblies, leaving their specificity and robustness largely untested. Existing PCR- and qPCR-based assays for Fusarium detection in wheat were reviewed and re-evaluated in silico using a curated genome panel. Of 53 species-specific primer pairs, 14 (26.4%) achieved high-specificity grades (A-B), whereas 25 (47.2%) were lower performing (D-E), mainly due to cross-reactivity or inconsistent target amplification. Chemotype assays targeting TRI and ZEN genes showed stronger agreement with reported chemotypes, especially for informative TRI loci such as Tri3, Tri7, and Tri12. To support improved qPCR assay design and reporting, we propose FusaMIQE, a Fusarium-adapted framework based on MIQE 2.0 guidelines, tailored to the specific challenges of Fusarium diagnostics in wheat. Together, this manuscript provides the first in silico assessment of PCR/qPCR primers as diagnostic tools for FHB pathogens and associated recommendations for good practice (FusaMIQE) of Fusarium diagnostics in wheat.
Pulse flours, such as those from peas, beans, and chickpeas, are highly valued for their nutritional density, making them essential for meeting the rising global demand for plant-based and gluten-free foods. Despite these nutritional advantages, industrial use is limited by specific sensorial, nutritional, and technological constraints. Overcoming these challenges requires targeted functionalization strategies designed to impart improved and predictable techno-functional properties. This review describes the characteristics of pulse flours and assesses both conventional (thermal, biological, and chemical) and innovative modification techniques, with particular emphasis on the application of nonthermal technologies and the main techno-functional aspects. Thermal methods are the most studied, primarily inducing starch gelatinization and protein denaturation, generally improving water- and oil-holding capacities but often reducing foaming and emulsifying properties. In contrast, biological methods (germination and fermentation) generally have a positive effect on aroma and typically lower pasting viscosity. Interestingly, the application of innovative nonthermal technologies is understudied in pulse flour matrices, although substantial research has been carried out on the main isolated components (starches, proteins, and fibers). The basic working principles of each technology and the available studies applying them to pulses are discussed, focusing on both static and dynamic high-pressure processing, ultrasound, cold plasma, and pulsed electric fields. The selection of the optimal functionalization approach must be based not only on an understanding of the underlying mechanism but also on a clear view of the intended final application to ensure the desired ingredient performance and economic feasibility.
Aquatic gel foods, including surimi, minced crustacean products, and algal gels, are important platforms for aquatic protein valorization. However, their production is constrained by uneven thermal gelation, endogenous enzyme-driven deterioration, nutrient loss, additive dependence, and limited flexibility for personalized design. This review synthesizes recent advances in physical processing of aquatic gel systems from a process-structure-function perspective, comparing the mechanisms, benefits, and limitations of major technologies. The central premise is that physical energy delivery can regulate protein conformation, intermolecular interactions, water mobility, and gel network assembly, thereby affecting texture, nutritional quality, safety, and consumer acceptance. Rather than presenting technologies separately, the review groups them into non-thermal physical fields, thermally assisted volumetric heating, and additive manufacturing. Their roles in remodeling aquatic protein and polysaccharide matrices are discussed alongside matrix-dependent responses and implementation constraints. Available evidence suggests that, under optimized and matrix-specific conditions, these technologies may contribute to gel network reinforcement, salt and fat reduction, nutrient retention, improved digestibility, shelf-life extension, by-product valorization, and personalized product development. However, overprocessing, nonuniform energy delivery, and matrix-specific responses can offset these benefits. Reported outcomes vary with processing intensity, treatment duration, raw-material composition, ionic conditions, and product geometry, limiting direct generalization across aquatic gel systems. Industrial translation is further constrained by fragmented mechanisms, limited quantitative structure-function relationships, insufficient scale-up validation, inconsistent evaluation metrics, and limited life-cycle, techno-economic, and consumer evidence. Future work should integrate standardized assessment, online monitoring, multi-field design, predictive modeling, and sustainability evaluation to support healthy, sustainable, and personalized aquatic gel foods.
Flour products are staple foods worldwide, and the industry demands green and efficient processing technologies to address quality defects in traditional production. As a nonthermal physical processing technology, ultrasound has emerged as a promising solution for flour product quality regulation via cavitation, mechanical, and mild thermal effects. This paper systematically elucidates the multi-scale regulatory mechanism of ultrasound on flour product quality, revealing its cascade regulation pathway from molecular structure to macroscopic quality: At the molecular level, ultrasound realizes dynamic water redistribution, reconstructs gluten protein conformation, and modifies starch crystalline structure; at the micro level, it strengthens protein-starch interfacial interactions and optimizes dough colloidal system structure; macroscopically, it improves dough rheological and textural properties, and achieves bidirectional precision regulation of fermentation kinetics based on power density gradients. The paper also elaborates on the synergistic mechanisms and quality improvement effects of ultrasonic composite technologies combined with high pressure, microwave, enzymatic treatment, and freezing, clarifying that ultrasound acts as a structural sensitizer and process enhancer in composite systems. Current research faces bottlenecks such as insufficient real-time molecular characterization, prominent industrial scaling effects, and preliminary research on healthy flour products. This review provides theoretical support and technical reference for the green, precise, and intelligent processing of flour products, and lays a foundation for the high-quality development of the flour product industry.
