Impact of post-rigor high pressure processing on the physicochemical and microbial shelf-life of cultured red abalone (Haliotis rufescens)

Seafood Processing, Preservation, and Analytical Techniques in the Age of Industry 4.0

Fish and other seafood products are essential dietary components that are highly appreciated and consumed worldwide. However, the high perishability of these products has driven the development of a wide range of processing, preservation, and analytical techniques. This development has been accelerated in recent years with the advent of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) technologies, digitally transforming almost every industry, including the food and seafood industry. The purpose of this review paper is to provide an updated overview of recent thermal and nonthermal processing and preservation technologies, as well as advanced analytical techniques used in the seafood industry. A special focus will be given to the role of different Industry 4.0 technologies to achieve smart seafood manufacturing, with high automation and digitalization. The literature discussed in this work showed that emerging technologies (e.g., ohmic heating, pulsed electric field, high pressure processing, nanotechnology, advanced mass spectrometry and spectroscopic techniques, and hyperspectral imaging sensors) are key elements in industrial revolutions not only in the seafood industry but also in all food industry sectors. More research is still needed to explore how to harness the Industry 4.0 innovations in order to achieve a green transition toward more profitable and sustainable food production systems.

Mild processing of seafood-A review

Recent years have shown a tremendous increase in consumer demands for healthy, natural, high-quality convenience foods, especially within the fish and seafood sector. Traditional processing technologies such as drying or extensive heating can cause deterioration of nutrients and sensory quality uncompilable with these demands. This has led to development of many novel processing technologies, which include several mild technologies. The present review highlights the potential of mild thermal, and nonthermal physical, and chemical technologies, either used alone or in combination, to obtain safe seafood products with good shelf life and preference among consumers. Moreover, applications and limitations are discussed to provide a clear view of the potential for future development and applications. Some of the reviewed technologies, or combinations thereof, have shown great potential for non-seafood products, yet data are missing for fish and seafood in general. The present paper visualizes these knowledge gaps and the potential for new technology developments in the seafood sector. Among identified gaps, the combination of mild heating (e.g., sous vide or microwave) with more novel technologies such as pulsed electric field, pulsed light, soluble gas stabilization, cold plasma, or Ohmic heat must be highlighted. However, before industrial applications are available, more research is needed.

Effects of decontamination treatment combined with natural chemicals and/or ultra-high pressure on the quality and safety of ready-to-eat wine-pickled mud snails (Bullacta exarata)

Ready-to-eat wine-pickled mud snails (Bullacta exarata) typically host a large number of microorganisms and are frequently contaminated with pathogenic bacteria during processing, resulting in a higher risk for foodborne illness with consumption. In this study, the decontamination effects of different treatment methods, including the use of ultrasonic cleaning (USC), natural chemicals, and ultra-high pressure (UHP), on the quality and safety of pickled mud snails were investigated by assessing the total viable count (TVC), total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) content, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS), and pH value of the products after 12 months of storage at –20 °C. Treatment with 200 W USC for 5 min was the most effective approach for reducing TVC in raw mud snails, with a minimal change in food quality. Natural chemical treatment or UHP treatment significantly inhibited the increase in TVC, pH, and TBARS and TVB-N accumulation compared with the control group; however, their combined treatment had no synergistic effect. In contrast, the combined chemical treatment was more effective in inhibiting changes in the above indices in pickled mud snails than UHP treatment alone or combined chemicals+UHP treatment. In addition, the bacterial diversity of pickled mud snails before and after 12 months of storage at –20 °C was determined using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Our results indicated that USC combined with natural chemicals can be utilized commercially to maintain the quality and safety of pickled mud snails during storage at –20 °C.

Non-Thermal Methods for Ensuring the Microbiological Quality and Safety of Seafood

A literature search and systematic review were conducted to present and discuss the most recent research studies for the past twenty years on the application of non-thermal methods for ensuring the microbiological safety and quality of fish and seafood. This review presents the principles and reveals the potential benefits of high hydrostatic pressure processing (HHP), ultrasounds (US), non-thermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP), pulsed electric fields (PEF), and electrolyzed water (EW) as alternative methods to conventional heat treatments. Some of these methods have already been adopted by the seafood industry, while others show promising results in inactivating microbial contaminants or spoilage bacteria from solid or liquid seafood products without affecting the biochemical or sensory quality. The main applications and mechanisms of action for each emerging technology are being discussed. Each of these technologies has a specific mode of microbial inactivation and a specific range of use. Thus, their knowledge is important to design a practical application plan focusing on producing safer, qualitative seafood products with added value following today’s consumers’ needs.

Innovative Seafood Preservation Technologies: Recent Developments

Fish and fishery products are among the food commodities of high commercial value, high-quality protein content, vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids, which are beneficial to health. However, seafood products are highly perishable and thus require proper processing to maintain their quality and safety. On the other hand, consumers, nowadays, demand fresh or fresh-like, minimally processed fishery products that do not alter their natural quality attributes. The present article reviews the results of studies published over the last 15 years in the literature on: (i) the main spoilage mechanisms of seafood including contamination with pathogens and (ii) innovative processing technologies applied for the preservation and shelf life extension of seafood products. These primarily include: high hydrostatic pressure, natural preservatives, ozonation, irradiation, pulse light technology and retort pouch processing.

Principles and recent applications of novel non-thermal processing technologies for the fish industry-a review

Thermal treatment is a traditional method for food processing, which can kill microorganisms but also lead to physicochemical and sensory quality damage, especially to temperature-sensitive foods. Nowadays consumers' increasing interest in microbial safety products with premium appearance, flavor, great nutritional value and extended shelf-life has promoted the development of emerging non-thermal food processing technologies as alternative or substitution to traditional thermal methods. Fish is an important and world-favored food but has a short shelf-life due to its extremely perishable characteristic, and the microbial spoilage and oxidative process happen rapidly just from the moment of capture, making it dependent heavily on post-harvest preservation. The applications of novel non-thermal food processing technologies, including high pressure processing (HPP), ultrasound (US), pulsed electric fields (PEF), pulsed light (PL), cold plasma (CP) and ozone can extend the shelf-life by microbial inactivation and also keep good sensory quality attributes of fish, which is of high interest for the fish industry. This review presents the principles, developments of emerging non-thermal food processing technologies, and also their applications in fish industry, with the main focus on microbial inactivation and sensory quality. The promising results showed great potential to keep microbial safety while maintaining organoleptic attributes of fish products. What's more, the strengths and weaknesses of these technologies are also discussed. The combination of different food processing technologies or with advanced packaging methods can improve antimicrobial efficacy while not significantly affect other quality properties under optimized treatment.