"Applied Biotechnology for Sustainable Food Systems — CEFood 2026"

Applied biotechnology provides opportunities to improve food production through the controlled use of microorganisms, enzymes and biological resources. Understanding microbial performance and translating biological mechanisms into reproducible processes are essential for developing effective starter cultures, producing valuable ingredients and making better use of agricultural and food industry resources. Dedicated to the 13th Central European Congress on Food, this Special Issue will bring together research on food microbiology, industrial biotechnology and bioprocess engineering. Its focus is on the selection, characterization and application of biological systems that contribute to food quality, safety and production efficiency.
We welcome original research articles, reviews and technical contributions addressing microbial and enzymatic processes, their underlying mechanisms and their implementation. Particular attention will be given to studies connecting laboratory findings with process performance, scale-up and practical applications in food and ingredient production.

Topics of Interest
We invite original research papers, review articles, and case studies addressing the following (but not limited to) topics:
- Selection and functional characterization of starter and adjunct cultures
- Fermentation with conventional and non-conventional microorganisms
- Probiotic strain characterization and production of microbial functional preparations
- Microbial interactions, mixed cultures and biological control of food spoilage.
- Enzyme production, immobilization and applications in food bioconversion.
- Precision fermentation and microbial production of food ingredients.
- Bioreactor design, fermentation kinetics, process optimization and scale-up.
- Omics-guided understanding and improvement of food microorganisms.
- Biotechnological conversion of food industry side streams into valuable products.
- Safety and technological robustness of microbial production systems.

Important Dates
Manuscript Submission Deadline: December 15, 2026
Publication Date (Online): 2027

Instructions for authors
Please select the "CEFood 2026 - Applied Biotechnology for Sustainable Food Systems" section when submitting articles.
Online Submisions
Author Guidelines

Issue Editor

Assoc. Prof. Dasha Mihaylova, PhD
University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
e-mail: dashamihaylova@yahoo.com

Co-Editor:

Assoc. Prof. Galena Angelova, PhD
University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
e-mail: g-angelova@uft-plovdiv.bg