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The use of insects as food is a proposed solution for the increased demand for food worldwide, but it lacks acceptance because of restrictive emotional factors. This article aims to understand better customers' emotions’ role in considering and consuming insect-based food.

To assess their acceptance, an experiment was developed with 38 participants living in Portugal to identify how people feel when consuming processed insect bars compared to cereal bars (of equal flavour). A video was recorded “before”, “during” and “after” the consumption of such foods, and the triggered emotions and affective states were identified using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and the circumplex model of affect, respectively. After consumption, the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) was asked to be completed.

It was observed that the valence and arousal of the emotions and affective states triggered during consumption were higher in the insect bar than in the cereal bar. Its consumption resulted in surprise and a positive evaluation. Processed insect-based foods may result in a potentially increased acceptance of this new food alternative in the market.

Prior studies briefly identified disgust as a primary emotion activated by insect-based food. The current research deeply studied emotional responses to insect-based processed foods in the Western world using the dimensional emotional models. This study offers arguments for the insect-based food industry to invest in processed food justified by its potential for acceptance. In addition, it motivates further research focused on other insect-based products (e.g. non-processed ones).

The authors assess the development potential of cowpea beyond grain in local markets in Mali by: (1) identifying trader types and types of cowpea products sold; (2) examining trader roles; (3) estimating gross margins and their determinants; and (4) discussing policy opportunities to further develop the value chain.

The authors analyze data collected through observation and semi-structured questionnaires from 487 sellers in 26 markets, including market, seller, and product characteristics. The authors also calculate gross margins and conduct a regression analysis to identify influential factors.

The authors identify several types of cowpea sellers in local markets, including processor-retailers, retailers of fresh leaves and fodder, and grain retailers, collectors and wholesalers. Women dominate the marketing of processed products and fresh leaves. The marketing of boiled cowpeas offers retailers higher margin rates compared to fritters and pancakes. Grain sellers, who are mostly men, have lower margins but sell larger quantities. Processor-retailers bring more value to the cowpea value chain. Specialization of the seller in cowpea, regional location of the market and day of the market fair all influence gross margins.

Future work should explore consumer preferences for different types of cowpea products.

This study of the cowpea value chain in Mali has revealed the multidimensional character of the cowpea plant, which goes far beyond its grain and highlight the important roles played by women.

Millets are ancient grains, following wheat, that have been a fundamental source of human sustenance. These are nutrient-rich small-seeded grains that have gained prominence and admiration globally due to their super resilience in diverse climates and significant nutritional benefits. As millets are renowned for their nutritional richness, the demand for millet-based products increases. Hence, this paper aims in identifying the growing need for innovative processing techniques that not only preserve their nutritional content but also extend their shelf life.

In traditional times, heat was the only means of cooking and processing of the foods, but the amount of damage they used to cause to the sensorial and nutritional properties was huge. Millets’ sensitivity toward heat poses a challenge, as their composition is susceptible to disruption during various heat treatments and manufacturing processes. To cater to this drawback while ensuring the prolonged shelf life and nutrient preservation, various innovative approaches such as cold plasma, infrared technology and high hydrostatic pressure (HPP) processing are being widely used. These new methodologies aim on inactivating the microorganisms that have been developed within the food, providing the unprocessed, raw and natural form of nutrients in food products.

Among these approaches, nonthermal technology has emerged as a key player that prioritizes brief treatment periods and avoids the use of high temperatures. Nonthermal techniques (cold plasma, infrared radiation, HPP processing, ultra-sonication and pulsed electric field) facilitate the conservation of millet’s nutritional integrity by minimizing the degradation of heat-sensitive nutrients like vitamins and antioxidants. Acknowledging the potential applications and processing efficiency of nonthermal techniques, the food industry has embarked on substantial investments in this technology. The present study provides an in-depth exploration of the array of nonthermal technologies used in the food industry and their effects on the physical and chemical composition of diverse millet varieties.

Nonthermal techniques, compared to conventional thermal methods, are environmentally sound processes that contribute to energy conservation. However, these conveniences are accompanied by challenges, and this review not only elucidates these challenges but also focuses on the future implications of nonthermal techniques.

The authors aimed to identify the opinions of young adult consumers regarding food processing companies’ (FPCs) credibility in terms of food safety (FS).

The authors surveyed Generation Z (GenZ) consumers. The authors assessed the reliability of the research questionnaire using Cronbach’s alpha statistics. The authors used descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA analysis of variance in the data analysis to determine intergroup variability. The authors performed statistical analyses using IBM SPSS Statistics. 27.

The most valued determinants for consumers were competence and skills, and the most valued family members’ opinions on FS, followed by experts’ opinions. FS concerns are more associated with FPCs than with farmers. The ethics of conduct and moral responsibility play an important role in assessing the FPCs’ credibility.

The questionnaire did not focus on specific food industries, such as fruit and vegetables, fish, meat, dairy, etc. In the future, a similar survey on producers’ credibility should consider the issue of FS risks associated with the specifics of a particular industry.

The authors proposed a set of factors that may determine young adult consumers’ perception of the FPCs’ credibility, which they may use for research within other consumer groups.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has great potential in the food industry. While 3D printing technology offers customised food products to consumers, it also allows producers to develop new products using a wide variety of alternative food ingredients, modernise the production process and carry out environmentally friendly production. This research aims to determine the attitudes of students towards 3D foods who are studying in the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, as they are both consumers and examine different food processing systems and use them in the field of application. As a result of the study, it was identified that the participants believed that 3D printing is a great modern technology that allows the development of new foods, that it will bring benefit to us in the future, reduce the cost of food and food waste, increase the sustainability of food and that they see it as environmentally friendly. In addition, it was determined that the participants did not think that 3D-printed foods were disgusting; they found these foods reliable, could try them in the future and were excited to experience them.

The main purpose of this paper was to evaluate the validation process of food safety control measures.

The validation of control measures has been analyzed at 50 food companies in Serbia. The sample included companies that produce food of both plant and animal origin and have certified food safety management systems. A total of 156 control measures that combat physical hazards (41.6%), followed by microbial hazards (34.0%) and chemical hazards (24.4%), have been analyzed. To enable quantification of the validation protocols, each control measure was assigned a score.

The validation scores showed that the highest level of validation was observed in large companies, as opposed to small and medium-sized companies (p < 0.05). The type of food safety hazards and the food sector did not reveal any statistical differences in-between the scores. The main approach to validating control measures was referring to the technical documentation of equipment used (52.6%), followed by scientific and legal requirements (30.7%). Less than 20% of the analyzed control measures were validated with operational data collected on-site. No mathematical modeling was observed for the sampled food companies. Future steps should include the development of validation guides for different types of control measures and training modules.

This study can serve as an improvement guide for food safety consultants, food safety auditors, certification bodies, inspection services, food technologists and food managers.

This study is one of the first to provide an insight into how food companies validate their control measures to combat microbial, chemical and physical food safety hazards.

The rising number of food recalls has raised concerns about complexity, globalization and weak governance in the food supply chain. This paper aims to investigate the recall of plant-based products with data from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Introducing the structural topic modeling method allowed us to test theories on recall in the context of sustainable food consumption, enhancing the understanding of food recall processes. This approach helps identify latent topics of product recalls and their interwoven relationships with various stakeholders.

The results answer a standing research call for empirical investigation in a nascent food industry to identify stakeholders’ engagements for food safety crisis management for corporate social responsibility practices. This finding provides novel insights on managing threats to food safety at an industry level to extend existing antecedents and consequences of product recall at a micro level.

For practitioners, this empirical finding may provide insights into stakeholder management and develop evidence-based strategies to prevent threats to food safety. For public policymakers, this analysis may help identify patterns of recalls and assist guidelines and alarm systems (e.g. EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) on threats in the food supply chain.

Two detected clusters, such as opportunisms of market actors in the plant-based food system and food culture, from the analysis help understand corporate social responsibility and food safety in the plant-based food industry.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a cloud system that saves energy by being involved in the decision-making process of machines. By this means, machines create an environment of direct interaction without the need for explicit instructions. In this chapter, answers have been sought to the questions of what kind of research has been done on IoT-based technological devices, and how IoT-based technologies are effective in sustainable food production. The systematic literature review examined the scientific research on IoT and Food in the range of 2010–2022 in Scopus. The general framework of the research has been carried out in the context of 6Ws (who, when, where, what, why, and how), which is one of the systematic literature reviews. The results obtained have been analyzed and interpreted in the MAXQDA 2020 qualitative data analysis program. In the findings obtained, it has been determined that IoT and food have gained importance worldwide, especially in England, India, and China. Furthermore, it has been determined that most of the studies on IoT are based on case studies, and all the articles examined are collected in three main focus points. Subcodes have been created under the main codes ‘Food Supply Chain, Smart and Sustainable Agriculture ve Waste Management’, and problem points have been tried to be customized.

Globally, consumer’s inclination towards functional foods had noticed due to their greater health consciousness coupled with enhanced health-care cost. The fact that probiotics could promote a healthier gut microbiome led projection of probiotic foods as functional foods and had emerged as an important dietary strategy for improved human health. It had established that ice cream was a better carrier for probiotics than fermented milked due to greater stability of probiotics in ice cream matrix. Global demand for ice cream boomed and probiotic ice cream could have been one of the most demanded functional foods. The purpose of this paper was to review the technological aspects and factors affecting probiotic viability and to standardize methodology to produce functional probiotic ice cream.

Attempt was made to search the literature (review and researched papers) to identify diverse factors affecting the probiotic viability and major technological challenge faced during formulation of probiotic ice cream. Keywords used for data searched included dairy-based functional foods, ice cream variants, probiotic ice cream, factors affecting probiotic viability and health benefits of probiotic ice cream.

Retention of probiotic viability at a level of >10⁶ cfu/ml is a prerequisite for functional probiotic ice creams. Functional probiotic ice cream could have been produced with the modification of basic mix and modulating technological parameters during processing and freezing. Functionality can be further enhanced with the inclusion of certain nutraceutical components such as prebiotics, antioxidant, phenolic compounds and dietary fibres. Based upon reviewed literature, suggested method for the manufacture of functional probiotic ice cream involved freezing of a probiotic ice cream mix obtained by blending 10% probiotic fermented milk with 90% non-fermented plain ice cream mix for higher probiotic viability. Probiotic ice cream with functional features, comparable with traditional ice cream in terms of technological and sensory properties could be produced and can crop up as a novel functional food.

Probiotic ice cream with functional features may attract food manufacturers to cater health-conscious consumers.

Research and interest in food loss and waste (FLW) have increased, but barriers stand in the way of firms engaging in food recovery efforts. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how firms overcome these barriers.

This study followed a qualitative, field-study-based research design in which 23 decision-makers at food-based organizations were interviewed. Quotes were extracted and categorized to develop a conceptual model of the food recovery process.

The conceptual model that evolved helps to explain decision-making related to FLW across the following dimensions: barriers to food recovery, incentives to overcome the barriers, internal processes for engaging in food recovery and external relationships influencing internal incentives and processes. In addition, the barriers and incentives were divided into operational and managerial issues.

Building on the barriers to food recovery in prior research, we explored the processes that help firms overcome these barriers. The model developed in this study is an important step toward addressing these processes and relationships. It can serve as a foundation for a variety of future studies of food recovery.