Citrus Essential Oils in Food Safety and Health: Advances in AI‐Assisted Authentication, Antimicrobial Applications, Sustainable Extraction, and Regulatory Translation

Abstract

Citrus essential oils (CEOs) are complex mixtures of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and oxygenated compounds with significant potential for improving food safety and consumer health. This review critically examines recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and multi‐omics technologies for CEO authentication, quality assessment, and regulatory compliance. CEOs exhibit broad‐spectrum antimicrobial activity against foodborne bacteria and spoilage fungi through membrane disruption, enzyme inhibition, protein denaturation, and quorum‐sensing interference, supporting their application as natural preservatives in foods, active packaging, and postharvest preservation. AI‐assisted predictive models and nanoformulation strategies further enhance antimicrobial efficacy by optimizing formulations, improving stability, and overcoming volatility and poor water solubility. Multi‐omics platforms enable comprehensive characterization of CEO composition for authentication, origin verification, and bioactive compound discovery, whereas AI‐integrated analytical tools achieve high accuracy (> 93%) in adulteration detection and food fraud prevention. The review also evaluates sustainable extraction technologies, consumer safety concerns, and current regulatory frameworks. Finally, key knowledge gaps, including limited clinical validation, inconsistent bioassay standardization, challenges in real‐food applications, and the need for harmonized AI‐assisted regulations, are identified to facilitate the safe industrial translation of CEOs.