Circular Economy and Sustainability in Food Processing Industries: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends

Resource efficiency, waste reduction and sustainable production are important aspects of a circular economy in which food processing has a pivotal role. As research on the circular economy (CE) and sustainability in the food processing sector has developed rapidly, the knowledge base has become vast and scattered, making it important to systematically review research development in this field. Previous bibliometric research, particularly Rabbi and Amin (2024), has examined circular economy and sustainable practices across the broader food industry; the specific thematic and intellectual structure of research focused on food-processing industries warrants further examination. Accordingly, this study provides a sector-specific analysis of the research landscape, examining the major themes and knowledge relationships associated with circular economy and sustainability in food processing. The analysis was conducted using Biblioshiny (version 5.0) in RStudio (version 4.6.1) and VOSviewer (version 1.6.21) with 1320 documents (886 articles and 434 reviews) from the Scopus database. Performance analysis showed substantial research growth over the last decade, with Italy, India and China among the leading countries. Document analysis identified dominant terms, including circular economy, sustainability, sustainable development, food waste and waste management. Conceptual and intellectual structure analyses identified themes and knowledge clusters, including sustainability, life cycle assessment, resource recovery, circular economy theory, and food waste management. Overall, the findings provide insights into emerging research trends and can guide researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in advancing sustainable and circular food processing systems. The findings provide a structured overview of the research landscape and its major themes, helping researchers identify priorities for further investigation while offering practitioners and policymakers insight into the issues receiving scholarly attention in food-processing industries.