Challenges, trends and opportunities in food processing

This opinion paper discussed past, present and future challenges facing food processing. If new challenges can only be overcome using new approaches, new opportunities arise for food processing. The challenges were organized in topics such as safety, preservation, nutrition, sensorial, wellbeing, environmental and future possibilities. In each topic, traditional, emerging and re-emerging challenges were discussed, as well as opportunities to overcome them based on new approaches, innovative interpretation and technologies. Some examples of topics covered by the discussion are food microbiology, allergies, enzyme activity, nutrient retention, incorporation, availability, mechanistic description and modelling, personalized needs, consumer perception, knowledge and feelings about food, the use of water, energy and raw materials to produce food products, as well as space missions.