Nutrient Quality, Food Safety, and Sustainable Diets: From Processed and Traditional Foods to School Meals and Food Systems Policy

Global food systems are rapidly evolving, driven by changes in production, processing, and consumption that influence the health and wellbeing of populations and the planet. The movement towards more processed and ultra-processed foods, changes in food environments, and growing concerns around chemical and microbiological hazards are reshaping how nutrient quality and safety are achieved. At the same time, there is increasing recognition that environmental sustainability, economic access, and cultural factors play critical roles in dietary practices, yet these elements are often considered in isolation. Recent studies highlight both the benefits and trade-offs associated with food processing, fortification, and preservation, emphasizing how these factors impact nutrient retention, exposure to contaminants, and dietary adequacy across traditional, processed, and institutional food settings. Despite growing evidence, there are persistent gaps in understanding how to effectively integrate nutritional quality, safety, and sustainability, particularly in the translation of science into practice and policy that encourages equitable and healthy dietary patterns for all.

This Research Topic aims to catalyse new insights and evidence on how nutrient quality and food safety concerns intersect with efforts to promote sustainable dietary patterns, particularly within the context of processed and traditional foods, school meal programs, and broad policy initiatives. The main objectives include assessing the balance and interplay between nutritional value, safety, affordability, and environmental impacts across different food sources and environments; evaluating the impact of policies and interventions such as standards, labelling, reformulation, and procurement on the healthfulness and safety of diets; and exploring the socioeconomic and cultural dimensions influencing dietary patterns, food choices, and outcomes. Additionally, the topic encourages methodological integration, from nutrient profiling and risk assessment to mixed-methods research, while highlighting equity considerations and the differential impacts on vulnerable populations, especially children and adolescents.

To gather further insights into the boundaries and integration of nutrient quality, food safety, and sustainability, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

o Nutrient quality across minimally processed, processed, and traditional foods, including the effects of reformulation and fortification

o Intersections of food safety and sustainability, such as microbiological and chemical risks, and trade-offs in processing and preservation techniques

o School meals and institutional food provision as leverage points for healthier, safer, and more sustainable diets

o Food environments, affordability, and consumer dynamics, including behavioural, economic, and cultural drivers of food choice

o Policy coherence and metrics that integrate nutrition, safety, environment, and equity in food systems governance

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Nutrient quality, Food safety, Sustainable diets, Food processing, School meal programmes, Food environments, Nutrition policy

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.