Next-Generation Postharvest Technologies for Fruit Quality and Shelf Life Optimization
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Foods".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 868
Special Issue Editors
2. Plant Biotechnology, Agriculture and Climate Resilience Group, UCAM-CEBAS-CSIC, Associated Unit to CSIC by CEBAS-CSIC, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: food processing; citrus; aroma; antioxidants; organic; sensory quality; bioactive components
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Plant Biotechnology, Agriculture and Climate Resilience Group, UCAM-CEBAS-CSIC, Associated Unit to CSIC by CEBAS-CSIC, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: plant physiology; stress physiology; abiotic stress; salinity; antioxidative metabolism; water saving strategies; postharvest technology; ornamental plants; rice; fruit trees
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables account for a significant proportion of global food waste, with adverse implications for food security, sustainability, economic efficiency, and environmental impact. These losses are often the result of physiological, microbiological, and biochemical changes that occur rapidly after harvest, leading to visible decay, textural degradation, loss of nutritional value, and decline in sensory acceptability.
In this context, there is a critical need to develop and implement innovative preservation technologies capable of prolonging shelf life and maintaining fruit quality throughout the supply chain, from harvest to consumer.
This Special Issue provides a dedicated platform for the dissemination of cutting-edge research and comprehensive reviews on emerging preservation techniques aimed at controlling post-harvest decay and preserving the physicochemical integrity, nutritional composition, sensory attributes, and aromatic complexity of fresh and minimally processed fruits.
Contributions should focus on non-thermal, eco-friendly, and sustainability-aligned technologies that go beyond traditional refrigeration and chemical treatments, exploring their mechanistic basis, optimization strategies, and practical applications under real or simulated storage conditions:
- Hyperbaric Storage (HS) and Isochoric Freezing (IF) as sustainable alternatives to cold chain refrigeration.
- Digital Twins, sensor-integrated platforms, and AI-driven decision models for real-time postharvest logistics and shelf-life prediction.
- Upcycled biodegradable coatings and packaging derived from agri-food residues, designed as functional and intelligent preservation systems.
- Photonic-based technologies (e.g., UV-LED, pulsed light, blue light) targeting microbial and enzymatic spoilage in fresh-cut fruits and IV-range vegetables.
Dr. Antonio José Pérez-López
Dr. José Ramón Acosta-Motos
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- digital twins and IoT sensors for cold-chain monitoring
- AI-driven modeling of fruit shelf-life and economic optimization
- circularity metrics, LCA and cost–benefit analysis of emerging techniques
- design of pressure vessels, packaging compatibility under HS/IF
- Hyperbaric Storage (HS), and Isochoric Freezing (IF)
- UV-LED/pulsed light treatments
- biodegradable nanocomposites from food by-products
- control of microbial spoilage and physiological disorders
- shelf-life extension and spoilage modeling
- preservation of volatile and aromatic profiles
- impact on nutritional and functional properties
- sensory quality and consumer-oriented evaluation
- application of preservation methods to climacteric and non-climacteric fruits
- regulatory considerations and safety assessments
- integration of omics technologies (metabolomics, transcriptomics)
- industrial scalability and economic feasibility
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