Muscle foods, encompassing meat, poultry, and aquatic products, are fundamental providers of protein and other nutrients, playing a pivotal role in human diets. Their quality characteristics, such as nutrition, texture, flavor, water-holding capacity, and color, are inherently related to their multiscale structural organization. In recent years, progress in microscopy, spectroscopy, and computational modeling has empowered researchers to explore the structures of muscle foods at multiple scales, spanning from the molecular and cellular levels to tissue level. However, there are still gaps in understanding how these multiscale structures influence the quality attributes of muscle foods. Moreover, with the emerging consumer demands for healthy, convenient, and palatable muscle foods, it is essential to develop innovative quality control strategies from a structural perspective.
The objective of this research topic is to integrate studies on the multiscale structure of muscle foods and quality control methods. We aim to clarify the relationships between multiscale structures and quality attributes in muscle foods and to develop and validate novel quality control techniques for muscle foods from a structural standpoint.
Themes for this Research Topic include, but are not limited to: • Multiscale Structural Analysis Techniques: Advanced imaging techniques like Transmission Electron Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, and hyperspectral imaging, spectroscopic techniques such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and computational modeling techniques. • Structure-Functionality-Quality Relationships: Research focusing on molecular structure, intermolecular interactions, myofiber organization, and tissue architecture, as well as the relationships of structure-functionality, structure-quality, etc. during the processing and preservation of muscle foods. • Emerging Quality Control Technologies: Non-thermal processing methods such as cold plasma and ultrasound for structural modifications and quality control; Intelligent processing technologies, including structural mimicry and quality challenges for cultured muscle foods and 3D - printed foods. • Food Design for Special Populations: New food designs tailored for the elderly, who have weakened chewing and swallowing abilities, reduced gastrointestinal motility, and decreased digestive enzyme secretion; for children, who have high nutrient requirements and underdeveloped chewing and digestive capabilities; and for other special populations.
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