Insights on Quality, Safety and Sustainability in Ready-to-Eat Foods Processing

Dear Colleagues,

Contemporary lifestyles influence food consumption patterns, and a major trend is the growing preference for convenience foods, particularly ready-to-eat (RTE) foods.

Over the last several years, the increasing demand for RTE foods reinforced the offer by food companies that leveraged processing technologies to meet the emerging trend. Along with classic methodologies, novel food processing technologies were developed, such as minimal processing. 

Current consumers require safe, nutritious, healthy, environment-friendly, and socially fair foods. Transparency of ingredients and technological processing are also major concerns among consumers that disregard processed foods, perceived as hazardous to health. Additionally, food producers are becoming increasingly aware of the health attributes of foods, aiming to target particular consumer groups that seek high-protein foods, gluten- and lactose-free alternatives, as well as foods containing pre- and probiotics.

Producers are also faced with the commercial need to extend RTE foods’ shelf-life, to reach not only local and regional, but also national and international markets. Still, sustainability issues arise from the global food market. The impact of food production, distribution, and consumption has been linked to an unbalanced relation with the environment. A “think global, act local” approach is needed which considers sustainable technologies in the food supply chain.

This Special Issue aims to provide an up-to-date assessment of RTE processing technologies, bringing together quality, safety, and sustainability concepts. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Traditional and novel RTE food processing and packaging technologies;
• Food safety and RTE foods;
• RTE food labeling, traceability, and transparency;
• RTE food health claims;
• RTE food sensory analysis;
• RTE food distribution (local, national, and international supply chains);
• Perspectives on the sustainability of RTE food production, distribution, and consumption;
• Role of consumers in shaping current and future food safety systems.

Dr. Ana Rita Henriques
Dr. Manuela Oliveira
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.

• food production and engineering
• pathogens
• contaminants
• production efficiency
• integrated systems
• shelf-life
• food packaging and labeling
• novel foods
• health claims
• sensory and consumer science