Disrupt Non-Thermal-Based Revolutionary Ways for Postharvest Food Security: Mechanisms, Hurdles, and Future Prospects with Focus on Containment of Mycotoxins and Fungal Screenings

Authors

  • Muhammad Awais Fareed Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Muti Ur Rehman Institute of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur-63100, Pakistan
  • Awais Mutti Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Summia Iqbal Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Tayyab Mateen Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Iram Bilqees Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Rimsha Parveen Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Sohail Imtiaz Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Hamza Saeed Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Usman Ghani University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Sub-Campus, Burewala Campus, Pakistan
  • Judith J Kiptoo School of Biological and Physical Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
  • Memoona Imdad Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan
  • Lubna Shahzadi Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha-40100, Pakistan

Keywords:

Postharvest food safety, Fungal contamination, Mycotoxins, Non-thermal technologies, Food preservation, Sustainable processing

Abstract

Global food security, public health, and agricultural sustainability face severe dangers from fungal contamination and mycotoxin accumulation which occur during postharvest processing of food. Traditional thermal processing methods fail to remove resistant fungal spores from food products, resulting in loss of nutritional and sensory quality. The development of new non-thermal technologies that provide sustainable solutions for fungal control and mycotoxin detoxification has become increasingly popular as an environmentally friendly approach. This analysis investigates the fundamental scientific principles and operational mechanisms and current technical progress of essential non-thermal technologies, which include high hydrostatic pressure, ozone treatment, ultraviolet radiation and pulsed electric fields and cold plasma and nanotechnology-based methods. The discussion explores how these technologies serve as antifungal solutions that protect against mycotoxins while remaining usable across different types of food products. The review presents primary study impediments, which include problems with industrial scalability, expensive operational expenses and existing regulatory restrictions. Integrated systems which combine artificial intelligence with smart monitoring tools will create efficient safe operations according to future system development. Non-thermal technologies provide environmentally friendly solutions which improve food safety during postharvest processing while maintaining food quality in contemporary food distribution systems.

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Published

2024-12-30

How to Cite

Fareed, M. A., Rehman, M. U., Mutti, A., Iqbal, S., Mateen, M. T., Bilqees, I., Parveen, R., Imtiaz, M. S., Saeed, M. H., Ghani, M. U., Kiptoo, J. J., Imdad, M., & Shahzadi, L. (2024). Disrupt Non-Thermal-Based Revolutionary Ways for Postharvest Food Security: Mechanisms, Hurdles, and Future Prospects with Focus on Containment of Mycotoxins and Fungal Screenings. Medical and Life Sciences, 3(2), 28–45. Retrieved from https://journals.smarcons.com/index.php/mls/article/view/450

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Vol. 3 No. 2 (2024): Volume 3(2)

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Articles

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