Current Nutrition & Food Science - Volume 21, Issue 5, 2025

Proportion of children globally experience dietary deficiencies, which have a negative impact on their physical and cognitive growth and heighten their vulnerability to illnesses. In addition, undernutrition worsens the intensity of several infections, such as measles and malaria. Food fortification is an important nutritional strategy that helps to combat micronutrient deficiencies and decrease their occurrence in many low- and middle-income nations. Although there has been a significant rise in recent years, food fortification schemes have also encountered considerable criticism from the scientific community. The present review aimed to clarify the actual influence of food fortification measures on the mitigation of malnutrition. A detailed review of the current state of the art in nanotechnology applications for food enrichment is provided in this manuscript. A comprehensive literature search was conducted utilizing databases such as Web of Science/ Knowledge, Google Scholar, Elsevier ScienceDirect, and Springer Online Journals. The search query included phrases such as food fortification, micronutrient shortages, fortified food, the impact of food fortification, and food-to-food fortification. The paper discusses the nanostructures, such as nanoparticles, nanocapsules, and nanoemulsions, in encapsulating, delivering, and safeguarding bioactive compounds within food matrices, with a particular emphasis on nanofortification. Recent advancements in nano-enabled food fortification are summarised in the manuscript, which also identifies significant challenges and opportunities for future commercialization and research. Food fortification is essential for both developed and developing nations to ensure that processed foods contain the necessary nutrients, hence improving their nutritional value for human consumption. Nanotechnology can be applied to enrich food by improving bioavailability and providing a delivery system for phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals. This review enhances knowledge regarding the profound consequences it may have on the future of nutrition and food technology.

In all fields of life sciences, the trends toward sustainability, enhanced product safety, and high standards of quality are significant. The food industry uses intelligent packaging to meet these needs. These systems can continuously monitor a product's quality status and notify the customer of any changes. Conventional methods can only satisfy the needs of regular laboratory food analysis. Thus, in the cases of major food safety concerns, quick, economical, and time-saving analysis techniques, including portable, on-site, and home testing kits, are desperately needed. Nonetheless, there is a chance that nanoparticles could be harmful to people's health. Nanotechnology, for instance, can be applied to food processing to improve food's overall quality, including taste, flavor, and bioavailability. It can also help products last longer on the shelf. Moreover, nanotechnology is often applied to food packaging to deliver innovative packaging and serve as an antimicrobial agent. It can offer fresh approaches to thwart fraud and serve as a valuable weapon in our toolbox to prevent bioterrorism. As a result, it is advised to set up a sufficient regulatory framework to control any dangers related to applications of nanotechnology. This review addresses the classification and safety issues involved in the application of nanotechnology in food safety and packaging.

The introduction of nanotechnology in food packaging has significantly transformed and impacted food safety, quality, and shelf-life enhancement. It simplifies the monitoring of product quality in real-time. This review gives an insight into the introductory perspective of food packaging, emphasizing active packaging, biosensors, and intelligent systems. Engineering of these nano-based active package materials to impart preservation, freshness, and safety advantages by interacting with the food environment. Nano-based biosensors play a major role in quality precision and rapid evaluation of packaged food matters. This article also provides advantages and challenges associated with these new-generation technologies to meet the requirements of food industries. To conclude, the future of food safety and preservation will be significantly determined by the increasing impact of nanotechnology in food packaging, making it a more effective, consumer-focused, and environmentally friendly option.

Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) supplementation is regarded as safe and beneficial to maternal health before, during, and after pregnancy. DHA is indeed an important fatty acid, and its requirement is elevated during pregnancy due to fetal brain and eye development requirements. Despite its established importance, there is no established Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for DHA, unlike other essential nutrients. The other gap in the estimated average minimum required intake is due to individual differences in the needs of DHA among individuals. This depends on an individual’s diet, metabolism, and genetic effects. Although there are guides on the minimum daily intake, measurement using blood tests still remains the best way to determine an individual's needs. Therefore, patients should first consider monitoring their DHA concentration and then adjust supplementation according to personal requirements. Among the existing choices of DHA supplementations, traditional soft-gel capsules present some drawbacks viz lower stability, lower bioavailability, and organoleptic problems such as a fishy aftertaste. The emulsion-based DHA formulations, on the other hand, offer a better alternative with higher stability, better bioavailability, and a favorable taste profile. Therefore, the editorial highlights the need for tailored approaches such as estimating the baseline reference range in individuals’ blood and then supplementing the individual with DHA using novel delivery systems, such as emulsions. These tailored approaches will further enhance maternal and fetal health.

In recent years, extensive research has been conducted on the functional properties of Cortex dictamni. Cortex dictamni has a huge potential to be an alternative medicine in the treatment of various diseases, such as inflammatory diseases, skin inflammation, tinea, eczema, scabies, rheumatic pain, and jaundice, and it receives greater attention due to its pharmacological effects. This review aims to find scientific evidence in order to support claims related to cortex dictamni. Subsequently, it is very important to gather studies related to the functional properties and toxicology of cortex dictamni from scientific research. We reviewed the existing literature related to the cortex dictamni. Multiple studies reported that cortex dictamni exhibits various functional properties, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-allergic, neuroprotective neuroprotection, hepatoprotective hepatoprotection, and anti-microbial. In conclusion, Cortex Dictamni is a commonly used medical herb in traditional Chinese medicines possessing various bioactivities. Quinoline alkaloids are regarded as one of the main active components in this herb. However, the safety aspects of this herbal medicine must be thoroughly evaluated to ensure its suitability for medicinal use.

Rosemary, as a medicinal plant, contains valuable compounds such as rosmarinic acid, rosanol, caronic acid, and carnosol. In this study, we summarized studies related to the anticancer effects of rosemary and its main ingredients by activating Nrf2. For this purpose, we searched the main databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and MEDLINE until 2024. It was found that Rosemary and its main ingredients affect Nrf2 signaling activity, a pathway that is induced in response to oxidative stress conditions to reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Nrf2-related effects of Rosemary and its main ingredients have been studied in different models of diseases, including cancers. These compounds also induce apoptosis and increase antioxidant enzyme activity downstream in favor of cancer cell line death. The induction of Nrf2 activity via activating protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase results in increased phosphorylation at site threonine, downregulation of iNOS, enhancement of nerve growth factor, and activating transcription factor 4 protects cells against carcinogenesis.

Various factors, including physical, chemical, and biological hazards threaten food safety. Among these, the significance of microbial (bacteria and fungi) and chemical (biogenic amines, mycotoxins, and heavy metals) contamination cannot be overstated. In recent years, a novel approach has emerged for effectively managing these risks, which relies on probiotics and postbiotics. Recent research suggests that postbiotics show promise as potential alternatives to probiotic cells and can be valuable in improving food safety. The term “postbiotics” refers to soluble substances, including enzymes, teichoic acids, muropeptides from peptidoglycans, polysaccharides, proteins, and peptides. These substances are either produced by live bacteria or released when bacterial cells break down. Postbiotics have gained significant attention due to their unique chemical composition, well-established dosing guidelines, extended shelf life, and the Existence of different signaling molecules that may possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, immunomodulatory, anti-hypertensive, and immunomodulatory properties. This review emphasizes the definition of postbiotics and their role in reducing microbial and chemical contaminants to ensure food safety.