pubs.acs.
org/acsfoodscitech Editorial
Challenges of the Food Science and Technology Community
Cite This: ACS Food Sci. Technol. 2022, 2, 1−2
ACCESS Metrics & More
fter almost one year since launching ACS Food Science &
A Technology (AFST), we are glad to have published
monthly issues since February 2021. This fact shows that there
See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles.
was a need in this field that has been fulfilled by AFST. We
thank the authors who have submitted their manuscripts to the
journal and the reviewers and Editorial Advisory Board that
make the peer-review process work efficiently.
Downloaded via 123.108.92.220 on November 17, 2023 at 02:25:45 (UTC).
The ACS core value of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and
Respect (DEIR) remains very important to everything we do at
AFST, from selecting reviewers to inviting contributions from
authors and developing our editorial team. We are a truly
global journal having received submissions from 60 different
countries with every continent represented.
During this period, AFST continues to focus on three major
topics: food security, food preservation, and health-promoting
food ingredients. However, we have noticed that there is
growing interest in the following topics: food waste and
byproducts as sources of food additives, intelligent packaging
to preserve foods, and new sources of protein with better
sensorial attributes.1 Because science is dynamic, AFST is open
to receiving submissions related to the topics mentioned above
if the relevance to the field is clearly stated. Recently, a review
related to the development of pH-responsive color indicator
films by using immobilizing natural food colorants obtained
from various plant sources in different biopolymer substrates
was published.2 Their applications to different food types,
including meat, seafood, and dairy products, were reviewed,
allowing the conclusion that color changes with variation in the
pH of the food could indicate the degree of deterioration over
time. Also, new methods for evaluating food freshness based
on polymeric sensing films have been developed. Basically, a
dual sensor that can evaluate degradation steps on a large
variety of protein foods has been developed.3 These findings
have great potential for smart packaging applications where
high versatility is desirable.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on all of
the world’s population, and food security continues to be an
important issue on which to focus. Today, most governments
have noticed that food production and preservation are
important issues that are worth prioritizing in their state
politics. Also, from an economical point of view, economists
have predicted that the food market is a big business. This is
linked to sustainable agriculture,4 efficient postharvest
handling, and reuse of food waste.5 In this way, food scientists
have the challenge via their research of making those targets
achievable by helping the producers do their best to preserve
the health of the consumers and provide the best quality of
foods.
© 2022 American Chemical Society
1 ACS Food Sci. Technol. 2022, 2, 1−2
Read Online
Article Recommendations
Among the different consequences of the pandemic, one
quite relevant consequence is the health of the population.
Human life changed significantly due to the quarantines and
the fear of socializing with other human beings. These
strategies for reducing the impact of COVID-19 have led to
many human health issues, such as eating disorders related to
anxiety and depression because of the confinement, which has
occurred mainly in younger and older people. Diabetes and
other lifestyle diseases (obesity, hypertension, and high
cholesterol) were the main comorbidities of COVID-19, and
their incidence was increased by a sedentary lifestyle. The
frequency of cancer also increased because most of the
worldwide population stopped visiting medical doctors and
hospitals due to the pandemic. In this time frame, the
production, market, and consumption of functional foods,
phytotherapeutics, adaptogens, and other types of edible
substances related to the preservation of human health have
been in greater demand. Consumers are more aware of the
constituents of foods and try to consume those that have
health benefits, and this is another challenge of the food
science and technology community. This can be achieved
using targeted or untargeted metabolomic analyses that allow
the analysis of many samples at the same time to compare the
effect of geographical region, variety, weather impact, or food
processing. For example, the effect of three commonly used
household juicing techniques on the phytochemical composi-
tion of ∼20 vegetables was studied. The authors found that the
number of phytochemicals that exhibit different bioactivities
depends on the processing, and in many cases, their amount
was increased in comparison with that of unprocessed
vegetables.6
In addition, many governments have implemented labeling
laws to alert consumers about foods with high carbohydrate or
fat contents. It is clear that a high level of consumption of that
kind of food is related to the increase in obesity and other
lifestyle-related diseases, and this has increased the stigmatiza-
tion by consumers; however, carbohydrates and fat are
essential nutrients for life. Thus, the food science and
technology community is in charge of supporting the
development of new foods, supplements, and additives,
assuring their quality, safety, and efficiency, as a response to
Received: December 10, 2021
Accepted: December 20, 2021
Published: January 21, 2022
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.1c00447
ACS Food Science & Technology pubs.acs.org/acsfoodscitech Editorial

the needs of consumers. Accordingly, ACS Food Science &

Technology is an excellent platform for sharing new knowledge
in food science and technology throughout the world to
contribute to a better and healthy lifestyle, which ultimately
improves the quality of life.
Coralia Osorio, Deputy Editor orcid.org/0000-0001-6222-
0138
Thomas Hofmann, Editor in Chief orcid.org/0000-0003-
4057-7165

■ AUTHOR INFORMATION

Complete contact information is available at:

https://pubs.acs.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.1c00447
Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the authors and
not necessarily the views of the ACS.

■ REFERENCES
(1) Webb, L.; Fleming, A.; Ma, L.; Lu, X. Uses of cellular agriculture
in plant-based meat analogues for improved palatability. ACS Food
Science & Technology 2021, 1, 1740−1747.
(2) Priyadarshi, R.; Ezati, P.; Rhim, J.-W. Recent advances in
intelligent food packaging applications using natural food colorants.
ACS Food Science & Technology 2021, 1, 124−138.
(3) Magnaghi, L. R.; Alberti, G.; Milanese, Ch.; Quadrelli, P.; Biesuz,
R. Naked-eye food freshness detection: Innovative polymeric optode
for high-protein food spoilage monitoring. ACS Food Science &
Technology 2021, 1, 165−175.
(4) Scott, N. R.; Chen, H.; Cui, H. Nanotechnology applications and
implications of agrochemicals toward sustainable agriculture and food
systems. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2018, 66, 6451−6456.
(5) Albizzati, P. F.; Tonini, D.; Astrup, T. F. A quantitative
sustainability assessment of food waste management in the European
Union. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55 (23), 16099−16109.
(6) Wang, J.; Jayaprakasha, G. K.; Patil, B. S. Untargeted
chemometrics evaluation of the effect of juicing technique on
pythochemical profiles and antioxidant activities in common
vegetables. ACS Food Science & Technology 2021, 1, 77−87.

2 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.1c00447
ACS Food Sci. Technol. 2022, 2, 1−2