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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Muscle foods (meat, poultry, fishery products) are among the food commodities of high commercial value, with high-quality protein, vitamin, and mineral content. These products, however, are highly perishable, requiring proper processing and packaging to maintain their quality and safety. On the other hand, consumers, nowadays, demand fresh or fresh-like minimally processed food products natural quality attributes have not been altered. The present Special Issue will focus on (i) the main spoilage mechanisms of meat, poultry, and seafood, including contamination with pathogens; (ii) innovative individual processing and packaging technologies applied for the preservation of muscle foods; and (iii) the most common combinations of the above technologies applied to address the multiple hurdles in achieving maximum shelf life of muscle food products. Innovative food preservation technologies include high hydrostatic pressure, natural preservatives, ozonation, irradiation, pulse light technology, and retort pouch processing, while innovative packaging technologies include modified atmosphere packaging, vacuum packaging, active packaging, intelligent packaging, and edible films and coatings/biodegradable packaging used individually or in combination for maximum preservation potential.

This Special Issue will attempt to bring together food scientists, packaging technologists, and food engineers as well as nanotechnologists from around the world working on innovative food preservation and packaging technologies, presenting the state-of-the art in a field of science/technology that is presently being shaped.

Prof. Dr. Michael Kontominas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

innovative preservation and packaging technologies
minimally processed foods
food quality
food safety

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 1243 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Combined Effect of Chitosan Coating and Laurel Essential Oil (Laurus nobilis) on the Microbiological, Chemical, and Sensory Attributes of Water Buffalo Meat

by Lydia K. Karakosta, Kornilia A. Vatavali, Ioanna S. Kosma, Anastasia V. Badeka and Michael G. Kontominas

Foods 2022, 11(11), 1664; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods11111664 - 06 Jun 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2187

Abstract

The combined effect of chitosan coating (CHI) and laurel essential oil (LEO) on the shelf-life extension of water buffalo meat stored under aerobic packaging conditions at 4 °C was investigated. Microbiological, physicochemical, and sensory attributes were monitored over an 18-day storage period. Microbiological data indicated that the (CHI) coating along with (LEO) was the most efficient among treatments in reducing populations of bacteria by 3.2 log cfu/g on day 6 of storage (p < 0.05). pH values of meat varied between 6.04 and 6.21, while thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values were equal to or less than 2.12 mg malondialdehyde/kg throughout storage. The colour parameter L* and a* values decreased, while b* values increased during storage (p < 0.05). Taste proved to be a more sensitive sensory attribute than odour. Based on sensory and microbiological data, product shelf life was approximately 5–6 days for control samples, 7–8 days for samples treated with (LEO), 12 days for samples treated with (CHI), and 13–14 days for samples treated with (CHI + LEO). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Muscle Foods Preservation and Packaging Technologies)

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Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

45 pages, 1648 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Recent Developments in Seafood Packaging Technologies

by Michael G. Kontominas, Anastasia V. Badeka, Ioanna S. Kosma and Cosmas I. Nathanailides

Foods 2021, 10(5), 940; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods10050940 - 25 Apr 2021

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 13315

Abstract

Seafood products are highly perishable, owing to their high water activity, close to neutral pH, and high content of unsaturated lipids and non-protein nitrogenous compounds. Thus, such products require immediate processing and/or packaging to retain their safety and quality. At the same time, consumers prefer fresh, minimally processed seafood products that maintain their initial quality properties. The present article aims to review the literature over the past decade on: (i) innovative, individual packaging technologies applied to extend the shelf life of fish and fishery products, (ii) the most common combinations of the above technologies applied as multiple hurdles to maximize the shelf life of seafood products, and (iii) the respective food packaging legislation. Packaging technologies covered include: Modified atmosphere packaging; vacuum packaging; vacuum skin packaging; active food packaging, including oxygen scavengers; carbon dioxide emitters; moisture regulators; antioxidant and antimicrobial packaging; intelligent packaging, including freshness indicators; time–temperature indicators and leakage indicators; retort pouch processing and edible films; coatings/biodegradable packaging, used individually or in combination for maximum preservation potential. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Muscle Foods Preservation and Packaging Technologies)

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