Postbiotics in Food Systems: Components, Production Methods, Food Applications, Functional Properties, and Technological Challenges

Abstract

ABSTRACT The functional food industry has increasingly focused on postbiotics due to challenges associated with maintaining probiotic viability and safety concerns in immunocompromised individuals. Postbiotics are defined as inanimate microbial cells and/or their metabolites that do not require viability but retain health promoting properties and technological stability. This stability has positioned postbiotics as promising alternative ingredients for food engineering applications where processing robustness is critical. This review provides a comprehensive, engineering‐oriented evaluation of postbiotics as next‐generation functional food ingredients. Current definitions and classification schemes are first summarized, followed by an assessment of how innovative thermal and non‐thermal production methods can be integrated into food processing systems. Analytical and advanced characterization techniques used for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of postbiotics in food matrices are then examined, alongside a comparison of the technological advantages and safety profiles of postbiotics relative to probiotics. Applications across different food matrices are reviewed and summarized in detailed tables, and commercially available postbiotic products are compiled together with their key specifications. Major challenges limiting broader industrial adoption are also addressed, including interactions with food components, the absence of standardized inactivation protocols, regulatory uncertainties, and the lack of harmonized industrial‐scale production methods. By consolidating these dimensions, this review identifies key research gaps, particularly the need for standardized inactivation and characterization protocols that can support regulatory alignment and evidence‐based health claims and outlines future directions to improve process efficiency and support the development of safe, sustainable postbiotic‐based foods.