Geographical indications (GI) are used to protect the brand value of agricultural products, foodstuffs, and wine and promote the sustainable development of the agricultural and food industries. Despite the necessity for the traceability and recognition of GI product characteristics, no rapid, non-destructive approaches currently exist to identify, classify, and predict these properties. The application of gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) has increased exponentially due to instrument robustness and simplicity. This paper provided a detailed overview of recent GC-IMS applications in China for the quality evaluation of GI products and food, including agricultural products, as well as traditional Chinese food and liquor. The general workflow of GC-IMS coupled with chemometric analysis is presented, including sample collection, model construction and interpretation, and data acquisition, processing, and fusion. Several conclusions are drawn to increase partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model precision, a chemometric technique frequently combined with GC-IMS.

There are many methods or indicators used for evaluating the nutritional value of foods; however, it is difficult to accurately reflect the comprehensive nutritional value of a food with a single indicator, and a systematic evaluation system is lacking. In this article, we systematically summarize the common evaluation methods and indicators of the nutritional value of foods. The purpose of this review was to establish an evaluation procedure for nutritional properties of foodstuffs and to help scientists choose more direct and economical evaluation methods according to food types or relevant indicators. The procedure involves the selection of a three-level evaluation method that covers the whole spectrum of a food’s nutritional characteristics. It is applicable to scientific research in the fields of agricultural science, food science, nutrition, and so on.

Background/Objectives: Selenium is indispensable for human health, yet vast regions worldwide grapple with selenium-deficient soils, rendering dietary intake a critical avenue for supplementation. This narrative review aims to systematically examine and compare domestic and international regulations and standards related to selenium enrichment, providing insights to enhance regulatory frameworks and standardization within the selenium-enrichment industry. Methods: From June to September 2024, we conducted a comprehensive search of official websites belonging to international organizations (e.g., Codex Alimentarius Commission, European Union) and governmental agencies of countries such as China and the United States. Keywords, like “selenium enrichment”, “selenium standards”, and “selenium detection methods”, were employed to identify pertinent regulations, standards, and guidelines encompassing intake benchmarks, detection methodologies, product specifications, technical guidelines for production, labeling requirements, and certification management norms. Results: Our analysis reveals several challenges within the current selenium-enriched regulatory and standardization systems, including inconsistent product determination criteria and limit settings, incomplete technical guidelines for selenium-enriched agricultural production, and a lack of unified regulations for labeling selenium-enriched agricultural products. Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for harmonization of standards and enhanced regulatory oversight. To address these issues, we recommend bolstering safety risk assessments for selenium-enriched agricultural products, establishing and refining a comprehensive standard system for selenium-enriched agriculture, and intensifying quality and safety supervision. This study offers a valuable reference for policymakers and stakeholders to promote the sustainable development of the selenium-enrichment industry.

The human body needs nutrients to maintain its regular physiological activity. It requires 40 essential nutrients, including macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Although macronutrient intake has been improved in China due to people’s increased social awareness, the population’s micronutrient intake remains insufficient. Objective: The current food evaluation system is primarily used to assess macronutrients, while an effective assessment method for micronutrients is still lacking. Fruits and vegetables are low-energy food sources that mainly provide vitamins and minerals and supply the human body with various micronutrients. Methods: In this paper, the entropy and fuzzy recognition methods were used to construct the Vitamin Index (Vitamin Index = Vitamin A Index + Vitamin Comprehensive Index + Vitamin Matching Index) and Mineral Index (Mineral Index = Calcium Index + Mineral Comprehensive Index + Mineral Matching Index) and to evaluate the micronutrient quality of 24 vegetables and 20 fruits. Results: The assessment results showed that Chinese dates displayed the highest Vitamin and Mineral Index among fruits (Vitamin Index = 2.62 and Mineral Index = 2.63), while collard greens had the highest Vitamin Index of the vegetables, at 2.73, and red amaranth had the highest Mineral Index, at 2.74. Conclusions: The study introduces a new method for assessing the nutritional quality of micronutrients, which provides a new idea for assessing the nutrient quality of agricultural products.

With a millennium-long history, traditional Chinese cereal vinegar (CCV) is a significant part of China’s cultural heritage. The unique flavor of CCV is derived from the use of cereal and its bran as raw materials and solid-state fermentation as a brewing technique. This paper systemically summarized recent research progress on the aroma compounds in CCV, the biochemical generation of aroma compounds during the brewing process, and the association between sensory perception and the primary aroma compounds. Furthermore, a complete CCV lexicon and sensory wheel prototype were constructed. This study aims to lay a foundation for future CCV aroma research, quality improvement, and industrialization.

The transition of global agriculture from yield-driven production to quality-driven systems has gained urgency, where premium pricing strategies offer pathways to enhance farmer incomes and promote sustainable practices. As a critical staple crop, rice exemplifies the challenges of aligning producer standards with consumer preferences to realize market premiums. This study systematically evaluates determinants of consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for premium rice, integrating analyses of attribute preferences, cognition perception, and purchasing experience. Utilizing survey data from 1714 consumers across four Chinese cities, we employ principal component analysis to identify key quality dimensions and ordered logit models to quantify their impacts. Hedonic pricing theory informs the estimation of implicit prices for specific attributes. The results reveal that intrinsic characteristics (like nutrition) and extrinsic cues (like the brand), along with consumers’ nutritional awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of quality-price correlation, jointly drive premium WTP. The mean acceptable premium reaches 4.52 yuan/500 g, with nutritional attention enhancements commanding the highest valuation (0.171 yuan/500 g). The findings underscore the necessity of standardized quality grading systems aligned with consumer preferences and targeted interventions to bridge information asymmetries. Policymakers are recommended to improve supply-side quality signaling through enhanced packaging and certification systems while strengthening demand-side nutrition education to facilitate value chain coordination and sustainable, high-quality development in agriculture.