Food and Bioproducts Processing

FBP aims to be the principal international journal for publication of high quality, original papers in the branches of engineering and science dedicated to the safe processing of biological products. It is the only journal to exploit the synergy between biotechnology, bioprocessing and food engineering.
Papers showing how research results can be used in engineering design, and accounts of experimental or theoretical research work bringing new perspectives to established principles, highlighting unsolved problems or indicating directions for future research, are particularly welcome. Contributions that deal with new developments in equipment or processes and that can be given quantitative expression are encouraged, including modelling and digitalisation studies. The Editorial Board is especially interested in papers that extend the boundaries of food and bioproducts processing using engineering principles.

The journal publishes regular special issues focusing on specific topics. The core topic areas covered are:

Biotechnology and Bioprocessing

• Biocatalysis and biotransformations

• Biocompatible materials and scaffolds

• Bioprocess modelling and optimization

• Bioreactor design and control

• Bioseparation

• Fermentation and bioreactor design

• Microbial physiology and metabolic engineering

• Product formulation

• Scale-up and preservation technology

Biorefining and Integrated Bioresource Engineering

• Process integration of biorefineries

• Feedstock fractionation and separation in relation to biorefinery integration

• Biorefineries and the Food-Energy-Water nexus

• Biorefinery value chain optimisation

• Integration of biorefinery concepts with food processing

• New functional food ingredients and non-food materials made feasible through the biorefinery context

• Biorefinery sustainability metrics

• Dynamic modelling and analysis of biorefinery systems

Food and Drink Process Engineering

• Engineering for food safety

• Environmental issues in food manufacture

• Minimal processing techniques

• Packaging

• Plant, process and product design

• Processing and microstructure interactions

• Unit operations, process modelling and optimization in food engineering

Hygienic Manufacture and Product Safety

• Fouling and cleaning

• Good manufacturing practice

• Hazard analysis

• Heating and cooling methods, including freezing, pasteurization and thermal sterilization

• Hygienic design

• Non-thermal processes

• Process Analytical Technology (PAT)

• Regulation and validation

Papers should be written in precise and concise English. Guidance on writing is available in the following open access articles:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0008622307003545

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0008622308000122

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0008622308001723

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0008622310002927

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0008622311005525

The Introduction should identify, clearly, the new science or novel contribution to knowledge in the work, and how it differs from previous studies in the field.
FBP has a strong engineering focus and the Discussion should indicate how the findings can be applied to other, related but different systems. Papers that are not likely to be published are those:

• That use experimental design techniques to obtain response surfaces but gain little insight from them, and do not compare results to established mechanistic models;

• Demonstrating the application of existing methods to particular materials without providing new insights or quantitative models that would allow the findings to be applied to other materials without extensive experimentation;

• That are empirical and ignore established mechanistic models, e.g., empirical drying curves;

• Concerning the extraction, encapsulation and/or antioxidant activity of a specific food or biological material without providing insight that could be applied to a similar but different material;

• Containing only chemical analyses of biological materials or foodstuffs;

• Primarily concerned with food formulation;

• That are primarily concerned about sensory evaluation and colour

Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML)

Studies employing AI/ML should clearly serve the above Aims and Scope.

Examples of topics within AI/ML that are likely to be considered for publication include studies showcasing, for the first time, how feedstock and system properties and features (and their elucidation) can effectively serve process design, towards pursuing efficiency in the food, drink and bioproduct/biomanufacturing sectors.

Topics that are unlikely to be published include:

• Peripheral characterisation of size and morphology (e.g. via computer vision, feature extraction, pattern recognition) that does not address the stated goals.

• Feedstock and product attributes (and their approximation via AI/ML-based prediction). These are a means to an end, and must be explicitly shown to contribute (via theoretical, modelling, experimental, or combined studies) towards advancing the understanding and practice of food and bioproducts processing, under both substance and systems complexity.