Collection 

Multiscale structure evolution of food during processing: functions and implications

Submission status
Open
Submission deadline

The multiscale structure evolution of food during processing is a multifaceted phenomenon with implications ranging from product functionality and sensory attributes to nutritional outcomes and health impacts. Understanding the intricate changes in food structures at micro, meso, and macroscales is pivotal for product development and understanding better the food-body crosstalk.

This Collection at npj Science of Food explores the diverse functions and implications associated with the transformation of food structures during processing, with a special focus on the cellular structure and nanostructures, and the new technology to navigate us in the complex system of food.

We welcome Original Research Articles and Reviews on the following topics:

  • Theoretical advances or innovative processing technologies/conditions for modulating multiscale changes, such as hydration, gelation, and emulsification, and how these determine physico-chemical properties and sensory attributes of food.
  • Studies that improve our understanding of how bioprocessing affects the breakdown or alteration of food structures in the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract (in vivo processing) or in the microbial fermentation, and technologies that enhance utilization of nutrients and bioactives and optimize health outcomes. 
  • Implication of processed foods for health, particularly in relation to issues such as obesity and metabolic disorders, and development of foods that are both palatable and supportive of overall wellbeing with a focus on the link between structural characteristics, digestion kinetics, and physiological responses.
  • Advances in processing or detecting technologies enabling precise control over multiscale structures and an ease in scaling up, offering opportunities for innovative product design and production, including but not limited to techniques such as 3D printing, encapsulation, microfluidics, nanotechnology, and AI-assist production.
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Concept photo of healthy and unhealthy food. Fruits and vegetables vs donuts and fast food

Editors

The Collection will publish original research Articles, Reviews, Perspectives and Comments (full details on content types can be found here). Papers will be published in npj Science of Food as soon as they are accepted and then collected together and promoted on the Collection homepage. All Guest Edited Collections are associated with a call for papers and are managed by one or more of our Editorial Board Members and the journal's Editors.

This Collection welcomes submissions from all authors – and not by invitation only – on the condition that the manuscripts fall within the scope of the Collection and of npj Science of Food more generally. See our editorial process page for more details. 

All submissions are subject to the same peer review process and editorial standards as regular npj Science of Food articles, including the journal’s policy on competing interests. The Editor has no competing interests with the submissions, which they handle through the peer-review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editor has competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests. See our Collections guidelines for more details. 

This Collection is not supported by sponsorship.