Sustainable Food Preservation: Clean-Label Technologies to Reduce Waste and Protect Nutrition

The field of food preservation is undergoing a transformative shift driven by mounting concerns over food loss, nutritional quality, and environmental sustainability. Traditional high-heat and chemically intensive preservation methods are effective at extending shelf life but often compromise nutrient integrity and generate significant resource burdens, from energy to water use. Current debates in the field focus on how to align preservation technologies with consumer demands for clean-label, minimally processed foods that remain safe, nutritious, and appealing. Despite notable progress, critical questions endure around optimizing preservation to both minimize waste and support sustainable diets, while regulatory and market hurdles challenge the adoption of new solutions.Recent studies have highlighted innovative non-thermal and mild preservation methods, including high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, and cold plasma, which are showing promise for better retention of sensory and nutritional properties. Equally, developments in smarter packaging, such as biopolymer coatings and active materials, are contributing to reduced spoilage and lower dependence on synthetics. Biopreservation and fermentation offer additional clean-label approaches, leveraging natural antimicrobials and beneficial microorganisms. However, many techniques require further validation at the product and system level, including life-cycle and consumer studies to establish their real-world sustainability impact.This Research Topic aims to bring together interdisciplinary research that advances sustainable food preservation strategies relevant to human nutrition and global food security. It seeks to answer how novel, clean-label preservation solutions can maintain food quality and safety, reduce waste, and support sustainable dietary patterns. The objective is to curate mechanistic studies, technology validations, product-level trials, and comprehensive reviews that inform the science and practical implementation of next-generation preservation.To gather further insights in the evolving landscape of sustainable food preservation, we welcome articles addressing but not limited to, the following themes:• Non-thermal and mild preservation techniques and their impact on nutrients, bioactives, safety, and sensory quality• Advances in biopreservation, fermentation, protective cultures, and use of natural antimicrobials• Development and assessment of sustainable active packaging, edible films, and coatings to extend shelf life• Integrative “hurdle” approaches and process optimization for various food categories, including modeling and risk assessment• Scale-up challenges, life-cycle assessment, economic and regulatory aspects, and consumer acceptance in relation to measurable reduction of food waste Topic editors: Sandeep Singh Rana, Gulcin Yildiz Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77801/sustainable-food-preservation-clean-label-technologies-to-reduce-waste-and-protect-nutrition