Biofilms, present as microorganisms and surviving on surfaces, can increase food cross-contamination, leading to changes in the food industry’s cleaning and disinfection dynamics. Biofilm is an association of microorganisms that is irreversibly linked with a surface, contained in an extracellular polymeric substance matrix, which poses a formidable challenge for food industries. To avoid biofilms from forming, and to eliminate them from reversible attachment and irreversible stages, where attached microorganisms improve surface adhesion, a strong disinfectant is required to eliminate bacterial attachments. This review paper tackles biofilm problems from all perspectives, including biofilm-forming pathogens in the food industry, disinfectant resistance of biofilm, and identification methods. As biofilms are largely responsible for food spoilage and outbreaks, they are also considered responsible for damage to food processing equipment. Hence the need to gain good knowledge about all of the factors favouring their development or growth, such as the attachment surface, food matrix components, environmental conditions, the bacterial cells involved, and electrostatic charging of surfaces. Overall, this review study shows the real threat of biofilms in the food industry due to the resistance of disinfectants and the mechanisms developed for their survival, including the intercellular signalling system, the cyclic nucleotide second messenger, and biofilm-associated proteins.

The traditional consumption of edible insects is common in one third of the world's population, mostly in Latin America, Africa and Asia. There are over one thousand identified species of insects eaten in some stage of their life cycle; and they play important roles in ensuring food security. The most common way to collect insects are from the wild, which is seasonal with limited availability and has an increasing demand resulting in a disruption to the ecosystem. There is a growing interest shown in rearing insects for commercial purposes, and an industrial scale production will be required to ensure steady supplies. Industrial production will need to take into account the living environment of insects, the nutritional composition of their feed and the overall efficiency of the production system. We provide a short overview on the consumption of and rearing insects in Africa, Asia and Europe. For Africa, a snapshot is given for Nigeria, Ghana, Central African Republic, Kenya and Uganda, while the following countries are reported for Asia: China, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, a list of insect species with the highest potential for food and feed in the European Union is provided with some reference to The Netherlands and Finland. The review concludes that there is need to better understand the rearing and farming procedures that will yield high quality edible insects in Africa, Asia and Europe.

At a moment when the population is increasingly aware and involved in what it eats, both consumers and the food sector are showing more interest in natural foods. This review work discusses, addresses and provides details of the most important aspects of consumer’s perceptions of and attitudes to natural foods and in-depth research into natural sweeteners. It also includes issues about their use and development as regards health impacts, food security and sustainability. In line with our main research outcome, we can assume that consumers are very keen on choosing foods with clean labelling, natural ingredients, preferably with other functional properties, without the loss of taste. In response to such a phenomenon, the food industry offers consumers alternative natural sweeteners with the advantage of added health benefits. It is noteworthy that Nature is a superb source of desirable substances, and many have a sweet taste, and many still need to be studied. Finally, we must stress that being natural does not necessarily guarantee market success.

Food texture is a major food quality parameter. The physicochemical properties of food changes when processed in households or industries, resulting in modified textures. A better understanding of these properties is important for the sensory and textural characteristics of foods that target consumers of all ages, from children to the elderly, especially when food product development is considered for dysphagia. Texture modifications in foods suitable for dysphagic patients will grow as the numbers of elderly citizens increase. Dysphagia management should ensure that texture-modified (TM) food is nutritious and easy to swallow. This review addresses how texture and rheology can be assessed in the food industry by placing particular emphasis on dysphagia. It also discusses how the structure of TM food depends not only on food ingredients, such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and thickening and gelling agents, but also on the applied processing methods, including microencapsulation, microgels as delivery systems, and 3D printing. In addition, we address how to modify texture for individuals with dysphagia in all age groups, and highlight different strategies to develop appropriate food products for dysphagic patients.