Post-harvest diseases pose a considerable threat to food safety and quality, and there is an urgent need for strong strategies to prevent and control them. In order to manage postharvest diseases of fruits and vegetables more efficiently, this review first describes various biocontrol agents (BCAs), including bacterial, fungal, and viral entities, and their basic principles in biocontrol. It then discusses the role of nontraditional chemical approaches, such as chemoinducers, plant extracts, essential oils, microbial metabolites, volatile compounds, and nanotechnology-based approaches, in postharvest diseases of fruits and vegetables. In addition, how nontraditional chemical methods can be utilized to enhance the effectiveness of BCAs is highlighted. The combination of nontraditional chemical methods and BCAs provides an innovative and effective strategy for preventing and controlling postharvest diseases. By utilizing the synergistic effects of various BCAs and nontraditional chemical methods, researchers have made significant progress in disease management. Notably, nanotechnology offers promising new avenues for the preparation and delivery of BCAs. Prospects for this research include the development of complex BCAs, international collaboration in the field of sustainable agriculture, and addressing regulatory challenges.

Freekeh, a traditional Middle Eastern cereal derived from wheat, is gaining global recognition as a climate-resilient, nutrient-dense alternative to commonly consumed staples such as white rice and refined wheat. It offers a compelling solution to pressing challenges in nutrition, sustainability, and food security. Compared to conventional grains, Freekeh’s cultivation requires less irrigation and fertilizer, supporting more sustainable agricultural practices without compromising nutritional value. This review explores Freekeh’s history, eco-friendly production, and compositional profile—highlighting its high protein (11%–15%), dietary fiber (12%–19%), and starch (45%–68%) content. It is also a valuable source of micronutrients including potassium (369–451 mg/100 g), magnesium (160–202 mg/100 g), phosphorus (412 mg/100 g), and B vitamins, as well as antioxidant vitamins C and E. Bioactive compounds such as ferulic acid, lutein, and zeaxanthin further enhance its functional potential. Freekeh’s low glycaemic index and cholesterol-lowering effects make it particularly relevant in the context of non-communicable disease prevention. While it contains gluten, further research is needed to assess its allergenic potential and phytate-related impacts on mineral bioavailability. This review highlights the timely need to explore Freekeh’s consumer acceptance, processing properties, and industrial applications positioning it as a promising ingredient in the transition toward more sustainable and health-oriented food systems.

Cultivated meat offers a promising solution to meet global demand for animal protein and addressing ethical concerns of conventional meat production. However, there are still gaps in replicating the sensory qualities and nutritional content of traditional meat products. Following PRISMA guidelines, this review synthesizes studies on the physicochemical, technological, and sensory parameters of cultivated meat. A thorough search of peer-reviewed literature from 2012 to May 2024 was conducted across three databases, 33 articles were selected from an initial pool of 714 studies, which were systematically screened and evaluated for eligibility. Technological advancements have improved muscle tissue formation and color development, with the use of scaffolds and cell types like myoblasts and satellite cells playing a significant role. However, most proof-of-concepts still fall short of replicating the textural properties, such as hardness and cohesiveness, found in conventional meat. While some studies achieved comparable cooking loss and color outcomes, texture remains softer, with incomplete muscle cell differentiation and weak structural integrity. Furthermore, cultivated meat prototypes often show lower protein content and lack sufficient lipid incorporation, affecting both flavor and mouthfeel. Despite these challenges, promising results in specific studies suggest that advancements in scaffold engineering and cell culture techniques could improve sensory quality.

Recent technological advances in analyzing the physical properties of foods, including rheology, thermal properties, color, and microstructure, have greatly enhanced our understanding and ability to assess food quality, processing effects, and boost consumer acceptability. Spectroscopic techniques, advanced microscopy, and computational modeling have improved the precision of analyses, with significant implications for food safety and innovation. Innovations in rheological instrumentation have refined our grasp of food textures, crucial for both traditional and innovative food products. Moreover, advancements in thermal properties measurements, like differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, and color analysis techniques, such as liquid chromatography and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, have revolutionized quality control and product consistency. These technological strides not only elevate the accuracy of characterizing food properties but also could advance future food processing and development, ensuring supply of nutritious, safe, and appealing products.

Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that support host health. They are extensively used in food, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Accurate viability assessment is imperative not only to ensure product quality and efficacy but also to meet consumer expectations. This review provides a systematic analysis of probiotic history, international regulatory standards and functional characteristics across strains. It provides a comprehensive overview of probiotic enumeration techniques, which range from traditional culture methods to modern emerging technologies that drive current research and applications. By critically evaluating the strengths and limitations of these methods, this review explores future directions for probiotic enumeration, offering valuable insights for quality control in probiotic products and supporting advancements in related scientific research.

Consumers are increasingly interested in incorporating plant-based analogs of animal-based foods into their diets for ethical, environmental, health, and sustainability reasons. Egg analogs can be created from plant-derived proteins, lipids, phospholipids, pigments, and other ingredients. The lipoproteins in egg yolk can be simulated using plant protein- or phospholipid-coated oil droplets, whereas the soluble proteins in egg white and yolk can be simulated using a variety of globular plant proteins. These globular proteins form irreversible heat-set gels, which mimic those formed by real eggs. Ideally, the thermal denaturation temperature of the plant proteins should match those of the egg proteins so that the cookability of the final products is similar. Other plant-derived ingredients can also be used to carry out the functions normally performed by eggs in other products, such as emulsifiers in dressings and sauces, foaming agents in desserts and bakery products, and gelling agents in desserts and flans. This article reviews the composition, structure, and properties of real eggs, and then discusses the ingredients and processes that can be used to design and produce plant-based egg analogs. The application of these plant-derived ingredients as egg substitutes in food products, such as mayonnaise, dressings, and bakery products, is then discussed.

Global fruit production generates approximately 0.9 billion tons annually; however, nearly one-third of this yield is lost or wasted during post-harvest handling and processing. Among the underutilized by-products are fruit seeds, which represent a low-cost and valuable source of oils rich in bioactive compounds. These oils hold promising applications in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries due to their functional and nutritional properties. To realize this potential, efficient and sustainable extraction technologies are essential. Supercritical fluid extraction, particularly with carbon dioxide (SFE-CO2), has gained considerable attention as a green, nontoxic, and scalable method for the extraction of high-value oils from plant-based materials. This review provides a comprehensive overview of SFE-CO2 application in the extraction of fruit seed oils, discussing their chemical profiles and the influence of operating parameters on extraction efficiency. By promoting the recovery of high-value compounds from low-cost biomass, SFE-CO2 supports both economic and environmental objectives, aligning with circular economy principles. The review also identifies current challenges and future opportunities for optimization of this green extraction technology in industrial applications.

Gut health is intricately linked to energy homeostasis, stress resistance, inflammation, and longevity. Methionine (Met) intake significantly influences gut health, with both supplementation and restriction showing distinct effects. While appropriate Met supplementation offers benefits, excessive intake can be harmful, whereas Met restriction appears to improve overall health of the body, especially the gut. This review synthesizes research on Met’s role in gut health, highlighting its metabolism, interactions with the intestinal microbiota, and effects on oxidative stress, inflammation, and permeability in the intestine. The possible reason for Met intake influences the risk of metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive impairment, thus influencing lifespan was explored, which is potentially via gut health. In addition, strategies for achieving precision nutrition of Met, including dietary adjustments, production of Met-specific foods, bioengineering plant strains, and methioninase supplementation, were proposed. These insights aim to deepen the understanding of Met’s effects on gut health and guide interventions for improving health outcomes.

Rapid and accurate on-site testing methods can detect food contamination promptly, serving as critical safeguards for food safety. Conventional techniques, including chromatography, mass spectrometry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay are reliable but limited by complex preprocessing, high costs, and poor portability. Nucleic acid signal amplification technology (NASAT) overcomes these limitations through probe-mediated target capture and exponential signal amplification, achieving sensitivity, even in complex food matrices. Notably, the synergistic integration of NASAT with multimode sensing is gaining attention. Such coupled systems not only significantly improve the detection performance but also reduce the generation of false-positive/false-negative signals and achieve cross-validation. This review systematically summarizes the nucleic acid signal amplification technologies and highlights their application in detecting food bacteria, mycotoxins, drug residues, heavy metals, and food adulteration when integrated with multimode sensor systems. Current challenges such as the immobilization of nucleic acid, system errors due to operational complexity, and complex primers and signals are discussed. Future directions are proposed to improve the detection performance and support precision monitoring in food safety.

To review the impact of culinary nutrition interventions delivered online, in improving participants’ cooking and/or food skills. A systematic search strategy was developed to identify eligible studies across five electronic databases. Experimental studies with an online culinary nutrition intervention were included. Study characteristics and outcomes were extracted from eligible studies by one reviewer and checked by a second. A narrative synthesis of results from eligible studies were prepared including descriptive statistics. Reporting was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. A total of 29 (15 pre-post, 5 quasi-experimental, 6 randomized controlled trials) studies were included. Significant improvements were reported in cooking and/or food skill outcomes self-efficacy (5 of 11 studies), confidence (3 of 7), cooking and/or food skills (3 of 8), knowledge (2 of 7), cooking intentions or frequency (1 of 5), and attitudes and behaviors (3 of 6). Study findings were mixed for the impact of culinary nutrition interventions on cooking and/or food skills. The precise effect of these interventions delivered online is limited by the quality and duration of the intervention. Systematic review registration OSF DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/HT29W