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Machine learning unveils three layers of food complexity
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  • Review
  • Open access
  • Published: 06 February 2026

Machine learning unveils three layers of food complexity

  • Qinfei Ke1,
  • Jingzhi Zhang1,
  • Xin Huang1,
  • Xingran Kou1 &
  • …
  • Dachuan Zhang2 

npj Science of Food , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Analytical chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Biological techniques
  • Engineering

Abstract

Food is a more complex system than commonly perceived, comprising tens of thousands of molecules whose compositions and interactions ultimately shape human perception. To conceptualize this multifaceted nature, we frame food complexity across three interconnected layers: the molecular composition that defines its chemical foundation, the component interactions that shape food properties, and the perceptual responses that arise from human sensory systems. This review discusses how machine learning is advancing our ability to decode each of these layers, together with multimodal and data-fusion frameworks. Understanding these three layers may enable more accurate prediction of food properties, guide food product innovation, and deepen our scientific understanding of food.

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Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the Collaborative Innovation Center of Fragrance Flavor and Cosmetics, the Ministry of Education, Singapore, under the Academic Research Fund Tier 1 (A-8003718-00-00), and the Start-Up Grant of the National University of Singapore (A-0010237-00-00). The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. The authors acknowledged using an AI tool (ChatGPT) for text polishing and grammar check. The author is fully responsible for the content and conclusions of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Collaborative Innovation Center of Fragrance Flavour and Cosmetics, Faculty of Flavour Fragrance and Cosmetics, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, China

    Qinfei Ke, Jingzhi Zhang, Xin Huang & Xingran Kou

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 2, Singapore, 117542, Singapore

    Dachuan Zhang

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X. K. and D.Z. designed the research. Q.K., J.Z., X. H., X.K., and D.Z. wrote the initial manuscript. J.Z., Q.K., X.K., and D.Z. rechecked the manuscript and participated in manuscript revision. All authors approved the final paper.

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Correspondence to Xingran Kou or Dachuan Zhang.

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Ke, Q., Zhang, J., Huang, X. et al. Machine learning unveils three layers of food complexity. npj Sci Food (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00730-w

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  • Received: 19 May 2025

  • Accepted: 23 January 2026

  • Published: 06 February 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00730-w

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