Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety最新文献

Rice, which is consumed globally as a dietary staple, is processed into various rice-based foods, accounting for over one-third of the total consumption and enriching daily diets. However, starch in these products often undergoes changes during processing, transportation, storage, and distribution, leading to reduced solubility, enzymatic digestibility, and sensory quality. Through physical, chemical, and biological modifications and the assistance of additives, its specific attributes and functional properties can be improved, thereby enhancing its performance in food applications. The regulation of starch retrogradation and the elucidation of its underlying mechanisms are critical for ensuring the quality and shelf life of rice-based foods. This review systematically overviews the factors affecting the retrogradation properties of starch in rice-based foods throughout the entire production-to-consumption chain. A bibliometric analysis reveals research trends linking “rice” and “retrogradation properties.” The objective of this review was to propose precise and feasible approaches for regulating the starch retrogradation in rice-based products to enhance quality. Notably, the amylose content and starch structure directly govern recrystallization kinetics, enabling direct control of retrogradation through genetic modification and variety selection. Indirect regulation is achieved by modulating the processing and storage temperatures to modulate the starch–water interaction and gelatinization–recrystallization kinetics. Furthermore, modification techniques and exogenous additives alter the molecular rearrangement, thereby improving gel stability and freeze thaw resistance. Understanding these mechanisms lays the foundation for improving the quality and shelf life of rice-based foods, bridging the gap between fundamental research and industrial applications.

Umami is crucial for enhancing food palatability, modulating appetite, and preventing obesity. Edible fungi, as nutrient-rich and sustainable food sources, are particularly abundant in umami (enhanced) substances, including monosodium glutamate (MSG), umami amino acids, 5′-nucleotides, peptides, and their derivatives. This review systematically summarizes their molecular structures, sensory properties, and structure–function relationships, emphasizing how processing, storage, and intrinsic factors affect their stability, activity, and synergy. Strategies such as fermentation, hydrolysis, Maillard reaction, physical assistance, and bioengineering are discussed for targeted production. Particularly, multi-combination processing and genetic engineering offer great potential in tailoring high-potency umami compounds. Advances in purification methods enable the separation of active peptides with outstanding umami and high purity. Moreover, recent research on receptor–ligand binding, orthosteric recognition/allosteric modulation, signal transduction, and multisensory integration shed light on the mechanisms of umami recognition and enhancement. Emerging digital tools, including biosensors and computational modeling, support high-throughput screening and function prediction of umami compounds. Overall, this review provides comprehensive perspectives on the molecular basis, processing, optimization, mechanism, and evaluation of umami components in edible fungi, offering theoretical guidance for the development of novel health-oriented umami regulators.

The escalating challenges of agro-food waste management have driven research into sustainable extraction methodologies for efficient bioactive compound recovery. Conventional thermal and solvent-based methods often result in compound degradation, solvent toxicity, long extraction times, and low yields. In contrast, non-thermal strategies provide higher efficiency, reduced solvent use, shorter processing times, and better preservation of thermolabile compounds, enabling greener recovery processes. Ozone has emerged as an eco-friendly, non-thermal alternative with strong oxidative and cell-disruptive properties that enhance extraction performance. This review critically examines ozone's roles as pretreatment, direct extraction enhancer, and solvent activation agent in agro-food biomass valorization. Ozone facilitates cell wall disruption, mass transfer, and selective oxidation, improving recovery of polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, and so forth. Furthermore, ozone modifies solvent polarity and reactivity, enhancing efficiency. Its integration with ultrasound, microwave, enzymatic, and supercritical fluid extractions offers promising potential for scalable, sustainable industrial applications. Unlike previous reviews, which mainly focused on ozone's lab-scale applications, this paper provides a novel and critical perspective by exploring ozone as a three-fold strategy. It uniquely discusses mechanistic insights and synergistic hybrid extractions and evaluates safety, environmental, and regulatory considerations that are often overlooked. While ozone-assisted extraction (OAE) technologies hold great potential, challenges such as compound stability, optimization of treatment parameters, and regulatory considerations require further exploration. This review highlights recent advancements in OAE and discusses industrial feasibility, economic concerns, and future research directions. By integrating ozone technology into bioactive compound recovery, agro-food waste valorization can contribute significantly in developing a circular economy and a more sustainable food industry.

The global food waste crisis and the achievement of the sustainable development goals have increased the demand for innovative food preservation technologies. Liposomes have the ability of controlled release and targeted delivery, which can encapsulate active compounds within phospholipid bilayers, ensuring biocompatibility and stability. This technology has solved the problems of instability, strong irritation, and low utilization rate of bioactive substances, while also catering to consumers' requirements for natural and safe products. This review presents an in-depth analysis of the structure, preparation methods, functional characteristics, stability and release models of liposomes, and comprehensively explores their various applications in food preservation, emphasizing their roles in extending the shelf life and maintaining food quality. Liposomes have shown remarkable potential in reducing food spoilage and nutrient loss by continuously releasing active ingredients and enhancing antioxidant and antibacterial effects. Future liposomes should focus on exploring responsive humidity mechanisms, green sustainable production methods, and personalized adaptive systems. Liposomes were anticipated to emerge as a pivotal technology for mitigating food waste and offering sustainable solutions within the global food supply chain.

Microencapsulated oil, prepared using microencapsulation technology, refers to a solid oil form with a wide range of applications in food formulations. Over the past 5 years, food scientists have been paying attention to microencapsulated oil, which has shown a continuous upward trend, particularly in developing healthier formulas. In this context, developing high-load microencapsulated oil (HLMO) is valuable as it can increase the amount of effective ingredients added to food and simplify ingredient lists. This article comprehensively summarizes dried microencapsulated oil with a load higher than 50% and analyzes the key microstructure that binds the core material. We also discuss the challenges faced and potential technologies for the future of these microencapsulated oils. Current studies have indicated that the oil load of microencapsulated oil prepared by the traditional material/emulsifier-combined method is generally limited to 50%, making it difficult to improve further. Microencapsulated oil prepared by novel wall materials stabilized, interface-strengthened, and Pickering emulsion methods can achieve higher oil loads, even exceeding 90%. The dense surface layer and internal network structure may be the key to their ability to bind high oil, both of which are transformed from the interface of microencapsulated oil precursors. However, over-processing of the interface, although beneficial for oil sealing, can result in poor rehydration performance, and extreme conditions can also damage the core material. In the future, the development of HLMO can focus on designing interfaces to optimize functionality and properties while controlling internal networks to bind oil.

Edible cutlery (cups, bowls, and spoons) are emerging as sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics and laminated paper containers, offering both environmental benefits and functional versatility. These products are primarily fabricated from bio-based polymers, including starches, millet flours, plant fibers, and proteins such as soy, casein, and gelatin. Despite their promise, large-scale adoption is limited by low mechanical strength, moisture sensitivity, thermal instability, and short shelf life. This comprehensive review highlights recent advancements in the design, fabrication, and functional enhancement of biodegradable edible cutlery. It covers raw materials, processing techniques including molding, baking, thermal pressing, and extrusion and key strategies for improving performance, such as protein–polysaccharide composites, food-grade crosslinking, bioactive incorporation, and multilayer hydrophobic coatings. The manuscript also addresses critical practical aspects, including shelf stability, scalability, consumer sensory acceptance, economic feasibility, safety, and regulatory compliance, with references to international standards and food-safety laws. Real-time applications in cafés, restaurants, and consumer settings are discussed, along with sustainability considerations and life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental impact. Finally, the review identifies knowledge gaps, particularly the need for standardized methods to assess durability, moisture resistance, and sensory performance. Compared to previous reviews on plant flour-based edible tableware, this work provides a broader perspective encompassing composite systems, advanced functionalization strategies, and integration of sustainability and commercial applicability. By combining material science insights, practical considerations, and environmental evaluation, this review underscores the transformative potential of edible cutlery in sustainable packaging and foodservice systems.