Dear Colleagues,

The food and beverage industries are facing new challenges, not only because they have been greatly affected by the current pandemic crisis, but also due to issues related to the growth of the world population, the limited availability of natural resources, and climate change. New emerging trends, especially those related to health and neo-ecology, have been driving food researchers, food technologists, and governmental initiatives to study alternatives to transform the way foods are produced, processed, and consumed. The new consumers are health conscious and are looking for wellness-oriented and sustainable foods, especially for those that have benefits for the immune system besides providing well-being. Thus, the future of nutrition lies in agrobiodiversity, which makes agriculture more resilient in times of climate change and, at the same time, ensures that our diet is enriched. Nevertheless, modern consumers are expecting to find freshly prepared food products that have been processed by techniques that should preserve the quality of the primary food ingredients, use low levels of additives, with minimum alteration of sensory and nutritive properties, besides having a low environmental impact. The developing of new food tech for food monitoring and smart packaging towards ensuring food quality and safety or for preventing food waste is also continuously emerging.

This Special Issue is dedicated to disseminating the results of advanced and evidence-based reports providing a comprehensive update on the global efforts made in the following topics in food science and technologies:

• Food Quality and Safety;
• Food Microbiology;
• Food Personalization;
• Functional Foods and Bioavailability;
• Plant-Based Foods;
• Natural Sweeteners;
• Sustainable Food Packaging;
• Food Shelf Life;
• Food Waste Upcycling;
• Food Bioprocessing;
• Food Sensors;
• Food Fraud & Authenticity;
• Cannabis-Infused Foods;
• Nutricosmetics.

Dr. Vanda Pereira
Dr. Ana Cristina Pereira
Dr. Carla Ragonezi
Guest Editors

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• Sustainable foods
• Natural foods
• Traditional foods
• Functional foods
• Fermented foods
• Food safety
• Foods microbiome
• Food technologies
• Food packaging
• Food waste