Dear Colleagues,

Meat production and consumption have received increasing attention after the October 2015 press release from IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the world health organization) on the results of the working group on the evaluation of the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red and processed meats. More recently, in April 2018, IARC eventually published the full monograph (Volume 114—Red meat and processed meat).

Other important topics in the agenda of the so-called “research-policy interface” include the effect of micro-organisms in meat, and the factors affecting the growth and survival of micro-organisms, along with meat preservation, public health issues, foodborne diseases, methods for laboratory analysis and quality control of meat production.

Meat safety and the protection of consumer interests, along with quality of production, are of increasing concern to the general public, non-governmental organizations, professional associations, international trading partners and trade organizations. It is necessary to ensure that consumer confidence and the confidence of trading partners is secured through the open and transparent development of food law and through public authorities taking appropriate steps to inform the public where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a food may present a risk to health. The current regulations lay down the general principles of food law and therefore provide the ultimate definitions of risk, including risk analysis, risk assessment, risk management, risk communication, hazard, traceability and precautionary principle.

When it comes to food of animal origin, eating meat in a routine and non-celebratory manner is a fairly recent occurrence in human history, since domesticated animals were too valuable to slaughter. In addition, without refrigeration, meat that was not consumed in a single meal would go to waste. The slaughter of an animal took place only on some festive occasion, with many guests and extended household gathered in one place. Nowadays, while the concluding answer for global food security is still uncertain, several groups have raised moral questions regarding animal breeding, transportation and slaughter.

Meat production and consumption is therefore a very interesting topic, which includes safety, quality, nutritional, ethical, and marketing aspects, because food is more than a metabolic fuel. It has physiological, psychological, social, cultural, and aesthetic associations that merge to form a gestalt that people endorse and maintain. The contribution of any food towards an individual’s wellbeing is as complex as the individual. In this context, the benefits of consuming food that contains hazards may even outweigh some risks.

Prof. Dr. Beniamino T. Cenci-Goga
Dr. Maria Francesca Iulietto
Dr. Paola Sechi
Guest Editors

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.

• meat
• meat products
• production
• slaughter
• safety
• quality
• risk
• microbiology
• meat preservation
• meat spoilage
• fermentation