Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
08:14
Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste
Published on: July 18, 2025
Food processing must evolve to solve global challenges
Felix Schottroff1, Denise M Mitrano2, Lilia Ahrné3
1Institute of Food Technology, BOKU University, Vienna, Austria.
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
|July 18, 2026
Summary
Modern food processing can enhance nutrition and safety while ensuring sustainable food supplies. This perspective examines how food processing interfaces with population needs, production, and health impacts to meet global food demands.
Area of Science:
- Agrifood systems science
- Nutritional science
- Sustainable food systems
Background:
- Agrifood systems have evolved for production, safety, and efficiency, but still contribute to environmental issues and low nutritional value.
- Current food systems must balance consumer needs, technological advancements, and planetary health for a growing global population.
- Food processing is a critical juncture in the agrifood chain, influencing product alignment with health and sustainability goals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how food processing advancements can support nutritious, safe, and affordable diets.
- To explore the role of food processing in building resilience within the food system.
- To provide an interdisciplinary perspective on challenges in meeting global food demands.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of population dynamics, needs, and preferences.
- Review of current food production and processing methodologies.
- Assessment of the impact of food on healthy diets.
Main Results:
- Food processing acts as a strategic interface translating upstream factors (e.g., demographics) into downstream outcomes (e.g., nutritional quality).
- Advancements in food processing can better align food products with evolving consumer priorities and planetary boundaries.
- The study highlights the interconnectedness of food processing with agricultural variability and consumer acceptance.
Conclusions:
- Food processing is integral to achieving sustainable and nutritious food supplies.
- Evolving food processing strategies are essential for addressing global food system challenges.
- An interdisciplinary approach is necessary to optimize food processing for nutrition, safety, affordability, and resilience.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Sources of Food Contamination
Contamination of food by microbial agents and natural toxins poses significant risks to public health. These hazards can be introduced at various points across the food supply chain, ranging from environmental sources to processing and storage stages. Understanding these contamination pathways is critical for developing strategies to ensure food safety.Seafood is particularly vulnerable to contamination through both environmental exposure and microbial colonization. Toxins from harmful algal...
01:26Methods of Controlling Food Spoilage
Food spoilage is caused by microbial growth or by chemical and physical changes, all of which affect the taste, texture, and safety of food.Temperature-Based PreservationRefrigeration at 0–4 °C slows microbial growth and enzyme activity, making it ideal for short-term storage. However, certain spoilage organisms—such as psychrotrophs like Listeria monocytogenes—can still proliferate at these temperatures. Freezing below -18 °C further slows biological processes by forming ice crystals, which...
01:27Principles of Food Preservation
Food spoilage results from microbial growth, enzymatic activity, and environmental factors that gradually degrade the sensory, nutritional, and safety qualities of food. Preservation techniques aim to slow or halt these processes to extend shelf life and maintain product quality.A key concept in food microbiology is the microbial growth curve, which includes four phases: lag, exponential (log), stationary, and death. During the lag phase, bacteria adjust to their environment without significant...
01:27Microbes in the Production of Fermented Foods
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and molds are instrumental in fermenting plant-based foods to enhance preservation and ensure year-round availability. These microbial processes convert plant carbohydrates into organic acids and other metabolites that inhibit spoilage organisms and contribute to the sensory qualities of the final product.In sauerkraut production, cabbage goes through a microbial succession that starts with cocci such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides. These microbes begin fermentation by...
00:48Optimal Foraging
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
01:02Protein Digestion
Protein digestion begins in the stomach, where the highly acidic environment can easily disrupt protein structure by exposing the peptide bonds of polypeptide chains. After polypeptide chains are broken into individual amino acids by a series of digestive enzymes, the amino acids are transported to the liver via the bloodstream to produce energy.