Reframing starch innovation for food security, sustainability, and metabolic health: From crop design to precision nutrition.

Starch remains the caloric backbone of global diets, yet its long-term security is challenged by climate instability, dependence on a few staple crops, unsustainable processing practices, and the growing burden of diet-related metabolic diseases. Although major advances have been made in starch genetics, crop management, processing, and nutritional design, these developments are often discussed in isolation. This review adopts an integrated food-system perspective that follows starch from production to consumption and emphasizes how decisions across the value chain jointly shape functionality, resource efficiency, and metabolic outcomes. We synthesize progress in four interconnected areas: (i) genetic and agronomic strategies to improve starch yield, quality, and stress tolerance; (ii) diversification, preservation, and circular valorization of starch resources; (iii) structural and processing approaches for resistant starch and glycemic control; and (iv) emerging technologies including synthetic biology, artificial intelligence (AI), plant-microbiome engineering, and starch-based intelligent materials. We also identify key translational bottlenecks, including limited structure-to-function prediction, scale-up constraints, and regulatory and equity issues surrounding next-generation starch technologies. By integrating plant biotechnology, food engineering and nutritional physiology, this review provides a framework for developing resilient, sustainable, and health-oriented food systems.