There is a growing demand for healthier diets, which include minimally processed, organic and/or natural foods. At the same time, there is the necessity to guarantee food security and to implement sustainable ways of productions, while attending the guidelines of the One Health approach, to keep the delicate balance among humans, animals and the environment. In this scenario, the so-called "non-conventional foods" (NCF) may offer options to complement food choices, adding diversity and nutritional value to daily diets, reducing the impact of human activities on the environment and contributing to the local and regional economies by reducing food waste and improving health.

NCF can be described as those that are out of the ordinary, such as plants or parts of plants that are not commonly consumed, despite having nutritional potential. In this food category, besides unconventional food plants (UFP), microorganisms, algae, insects and other products that are rich in nutritious components, such as proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, minerals and essential amino acids may also be included, besides fiber-rich items. These innovative foods are being increasingly studied because, in addition to their potential to improve health, they can be produced in a rational and sustainable way. In light of the recent advances in the development of NCF, little is known about their microbiological characteristics.

This Research Topic addresses the microbiological aspects of NCF, including microbiological hazards, food microbiome, fermentation, and microbiological quality of such foods. It has the objective to aid in the current understanding of the impact of microbial communities associated with these NCF, with regard to quality aspects as well as possible outcomes related to health and disease.

This Research Topic welcomes Original Research and Review articles concerning the latest advances in microbiological aspects of non-conventional foods, ingredients and beverages, including the following themes:
• Microbial aspects of unconventional vegetables and protein sources used as nutritional sources;
• Yeasts and multicellular fungi used as nutritional source;
• Non-conventional foods produced via fermentation;
• Microbiome, microbiological quality and safety of non-conventional foods.

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Frontiers in Microbiology

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