Photoactive Nanomaterials for Mitigating Food Risk Factors: Advances, Mechanisms, and Future Perspectives

Food safety remains a critical global challenge due to the pervasive presence of chemical contaminants (e.g., mycotoxins, pesticides) and microbial hazards in food systems. This complex contamination landscape drives innovative, development of decontamination strategies. Semiconductor-based photoactive nanomaterials demonstrate promising prospects for mitigating diverse risk factors in food systems. This paper summarized the applications of photoactive nanomaterials for reducing food risk factors (e.g., mycotoxin detoxification, pesticide decomposition, and food pigments). It also analyzed their degradation mechanism, and discussed their application limitations. Furthermore, the preparation of antibacterial agents and membrane materials based on photoactive nanomaterials, and their applications in the fields of antibacterial field and food preservation, were also reviewed. Additionally, the development of the selective photocatalytic systems that possess both high catalytic efficiency and good food matrix compatibility was discussed in this paper. In short, this article systematically integrated the strategies of material engineering used to enhance the performance of photoactive nanomaterials, as well as their applications as photocatalysts, nanoantibacterial agents, and functional membrane materials in food safety, offering novel perspectives on the controlling of food hazards.