Natural Additives in Food and Sustainable Packaging: Innovations and Applications

Santosh Kumar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar, Assam, India. He earned his MTech and PhD degrees from the Department of Food Technology and Biochemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. He also worked as a postdoctoral fellow for 1 year at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, in 2018–19. Dr Kumar has more than 14 years of teaching and research experience in sustainable food systems, mainly focusing on innovative and sustainable food preservation techniques, active and intelligent food packaging systems, edible films and coatings, and valorization of agri-food waste. He has authored/edited more than 70 publications, including 50 peer-reviewed journal papers, 4 books, and 21 book chapters.

Avik Mukherjee is an Associate Professor at the Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar, Assam, India. He earned his MS and PhD degrees in Food Science from the University of Minnesota, USA, and then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Meat Safety and Quality, Colorado State University, USA. Dr Mukherjee has 18 years of teaching and research experience, and his areas of research include microbial food safety, sustainable and novel food preservation, and packaging. He has published articles in nearly 40 international peer-reviewed journals and co-authored and/or co-edited 9 books and 16 book chapters.

Rajeev Bhat is a Professor at the Chair of Food Science & Technology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Estonia. Since 2019, he has held the prestigious position of professor and ERA chair-holder for Food (By-)Products Valorisation Technologies (VALORTECH) in the same institution. Prof. Bhat has research and teaching experience of more than two decades in agri-food technology, with expertise in sustainable food production and food security. He has extensively worked internationally, including India, South Korea, Malaysia, Germany, Fiji Islands, and now Estonia. He has also been a visiting scientist/professor in many countries and a recipient of several international recognitions. He has published nearly 300 research articles in ISI-WOS-based journals and as refereed book chapters. He has also edited 13 books and authored 1 book.