From Waste to Taste: Sensory Perception and Consumers’ Acceptability of Upcycled Foods
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensory and Consumer Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 May 2026 | Viewed by 20
Special Issue Editors
Interests: food science and technology; new product development; sensory analysis; brewing; upcycled foods
Interests: food sensory evaluation; consumer science; chemosensory perception; individual differences in perception; novel foods; sustainable food systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As concerns about food loss and food waste, sustainability, and the circular economy continue to grow on a global scale, researchers, companies, and consumers are paying more and more attention to upcycled food products which use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment. Indeed, reusing side streams, by-products and surplus materials represent a significant chance to add value, reducing food waste and meeting sustainability goals. While the nutritional and technological aspects of upcycled food production have been widely studied, consumers’ acceptability and sensory perception are still important but less explored factors for their successful market integration.
This Special Issue of Foods is dedicated to original research and review articles that contribute to a comprehensive understanding of how sensory attributes (related to appearance, aroma, taste, flavour, texture) and consumers’ attitudes, expectations and behaviours influence the acceptability, preference and purchase intention of upcycled food products. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Evaluation of the impact of upcycled ingredients on sensory quality of final product;
- The influence of information, labelling and communication strategies on consumers’ liking and purchase intention of upcycled foods;
- Cross-cultural studies on upcycled foods’ acceptance;
- Consumer research on upcycled foods exploring emotional responses and contexts of consumption.
By bridging sensory and consumer science, this Special Issue aims to advance insight that supports the introduction of upcycled foods into mainstream consumers choices.
Dr. Nazarena Cela
Prof. Dr. Luisa Torri
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.
Keywords
- food loss
- food waste
- circular economy
- upcycled food products
- sensory attributes
- consumers choices
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