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Betalains are attractive natural pigments with potent antioxidant activity, mainly extracted from the roots, tubers, leaves, flowers, and fruits of certain plants and some fungi. They constitute a reliable alternative to synthetic dyes used in the food industry and are considered toxic for consumers. In addition, there is convincing evidence of their health benefits for consumers. However, betalains are highly unstable to environment factors, such as light, heat, oxygen, water activity, and pH change which can be degraded during food processing, handling, storage, or delivery. Therefore, newly developed extraction methods and micro/nano-encapsulation techniques are currently applied to enhance the extraction yield, solve their instability problems, and improve their application in the food industry. This article aims to summarize the new advanced extraction methods of betalains, discussing the recent encapsulation techniques concerning the different encapsulating materials utilization. Betalains, natural pigments with potent antioxidant activity, are increasingly extracted from the roots, tubers, leaves, flowers, and fruits of certain plants and some fungi as safe alternatives to synthetic food dyes used in the food industry. However, their susceptibility to degradation during food processing, storage, and delivery poses challenges. Recent developments in extraction methods (e.g., supercritical fluid, pressurized liquid, ultrasound- and microwave-assisted, and enzyme-assisted) enhance betalain recovery, minimizing degradation. Encapsulation techniques using biopolymers, proteins, lipids, and nanoparticles protect betalains from environmental factors, extending shelf life and enabling controlled release. These advancements offer improved extraction efficiency, reduced solvent use, shorter processing times, and enhanced stability. Integration of these techniques in the food industry presents opportunities for incorporating betalains into various products, including functional foods, beverages, and dietary supplements. By addressing stability challenges, these developments support the production of innovative, healthier food items enriched with betalains. This article provides an overview of recent advancements in betalain extraction and encapsulation, highlighting their potential applications in the food industry.

Nowadays, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, consumers increasingly seek foods that not only fulfill the basic need (i.e., satisfying hunger) but also enhance human health and well-being. As a result, more attention has been given to some kinds of foods, termed " superfoods ," making big claims about their richness in valuable nutrients and bioactive compounds as well as their capability to prevent illness, reinforcing the human immune system, and improve overall health.This review is an attempt to uncover truths and myths about superfoods by giving examples of the most popular foods (e.g., berries, pomegranates, watermelon, olive, green tea, several seeds and nuts, honey, salmon, and camel milk, among many others) that are commonly reported as having unique nutritional, nutraceutical, and functional characteristics.While superfoods have become a popular buzzword in blog articles and social media posts, scientific publications are still relatively marginal. The reviewed findings show that COVID-19 has become a significant driver for superfoods consumption. Food Industry 4.0 innovations have revolutionized many sectors of food technologies, including the manufacturing of functional foods, offering new opportunities to improve the sensory and nutritional quality of such foods. Although many food products have been considered superfoods and intensively sought by consumers, scientific evidence for their beneficial effectiveness and their "superpower" are yet to be provided. Therefore, more research and collaboration between researchers, industry, consumers, and policymakers are still needed to differentiate facts from marketing gimmicks and promote human health and nutrition.

Climate change, the growth in world population, high levels of food waste and food loss, and the risk of new disease or pandemic outbreaks are examples of the many challenges that threaten future food sustainability and the security of the planet and urgently need to be addressed. The fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, has been gaining momentum since 2015, being a significant driver for sustainable development and a successful catalyst to tackle critical global challenges. This review paper summarizes the most relevant food Industry 4.0 technologies including, among others, digital technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, big data analytics, Internet of Things, and blockchain) and other technological advances (e.g., smart sensors, robotics, digital twins, and cyber-physical systems). Moreover, insights into the new food trends (such as 3D printed foods) that have emerged as a result of the Industry 4.0 technological revolution will also be discussed in Part II of this work. The Industry 4.0 technologies have significantly modified the food industry and led to substantial consequences for the environment, economics, and human health. Despite the importance of each of the technologies mentioned above, ground-breaking sustainable solutions could only emerge by combining many technologies simultaneously. The Food Industry 4.0 era has been characterized by new challenges, opportunities, and trends that have reshaped current strategies and prospects for food production and consumption patterns, paving the way for the move toward Industry 5.0.

Modeling is an important tool in the food industry since it is able to simplify explanation of phenomena and optimize processes that cover a broad field from manufacture to byproducts treatment. The goal of the current article is to explore the development of enzyme kinetic models and their evolution over the last decades. For this reason, corresponding simulations were classified in deterministic, empirical, and stochastic models, prior investigating limitations, corrections, and industrial applications in each case. The ultimate goal is to provide an answer to a major problem: how can we develop an intermediate complexity model that achieves satisfactorily representation of the main phenomena with a limited number of parameters?