Global food systems have changed over the past 50 years, moving from primarily rural to industrialized and consolidated systems. This change has influenced livelihoods, diets, nutrition and health, and environmental sustainability. Over the past few decades, the food sector has experienced a number of changes that have affected the climate and the environment. Ensuring equitable access to food security and nutritious meals for the global population is the paramount objective shared by all governments. In order to make it feasible, we must create a more comprehensive system of design for the production of healthy food while reducing waste, creating new technologies for value-adding, and utilizing novel food components. These advancements have led to the creation of novel foods, which are crucial in ensuring that everyone has access to sustainable and healthy food.

Despite global economic development throughout the previous two decades, issues with malnutrition, food insecurity, and regional inequality still exist. A future public health emergency is foreshadowed by trends in overweight and obesity as well as nutritional deficiencies. Using a "Food Systems Approach (FSA)" as a lens, we investigate the mutually reinforcing relationships between nutrition and food production. All food scientists and technologists have investigated a range of obstacles and prospects in order to safeguard the future of nutrition. The most recent information on the food sector's development processes will be collected in this Research Topic, which will also highlight the challenges faced by the food system, point out trends and potential roadblocks, stress the need for institutional and policy interventions to address these issues and establish an interconnected system for economic, nutritional, and health-related development.

As the global population continues to rise, Earth's ability to replenish its food supply is progressively diminishing. Therefore, in order to produce enough safe and healthy food to feed the world's population, both present and future, recent breakthroughs and innovative sustainable food processing techniques are needed. Over the past two decades, food scientists have devised innovative approaches to minimize food loss and waste, enhance food production, discover new ingredients, create innovative food products, and integrate digitalization into the food chain. Thus, the food scientists and technologists shall be submitting research on ‘Recent Advances and Future Prospects for Sustaining a Healthier Food System’.

The Research Topic addresses how food systems must change in order to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and address the many deeply ingrained and interconnected issues of hunger, malnutrition, health, inequality, rising living costs, climate change, biodiversity, war, and energy. The food sector needs innovative concepts in the areas of nutrition, sustainable food production, and food processing to fulfill this challenge. Given the importance of the theme, the 7th AMIFOST-2024 International Conference on “Recent Advances and Future Prospects in Formatting a Healthier Food System” is being announced by Amity Institute of Food Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India, for March 19–20, 2024.

Objectives of the Research Topic:

• Discussion on solutions for food safety, security, and healthy diets.
• Explore innovations in technology for novel foods.
• Discussion on strategies in food production and processing to meet food security.
• Promoting the research and developments in Healthier Food Systems.

This Research Topic will welcome original research and review papers (both from conference attendees and wider external audiences) on the following topics, including but not limited to:

• Novel foods.
• Valorization of food by-products.
• Food for health and well-being.
• Next-generation foods.
• Millets and other sustainable crops.
• Food regulation, policies, and food safety.
• Sustainable food production.
• Food in conflict zones and emergencies.
• Exploiting new interfaces in food science and nutrition.
• Biodiversity in foods.

Impact

Frontiers in Nutrition

Nutrition and Food Science Technology

Food Policy and Economics