Abstract
Seafood products are highly perishable, owing to their high water activity, close to neutral pH, and high content of unsaturated lipids and non-protein nitrogenous compounds. Thus, such products require immediate processing and/or packaging to retain their safety and quality. At the same time, consumers prefer fresh, minimally processed seafood products that maintain their initial quality properties. The present article aims to review the literature over the past decade on: (i) innovative, individual packaging technologies applied to extend the shelf life of fish and fishery products, (ii) the most common combinations of the above technologies applied as multiple hurdles to maximize the shelf life of seafood products, and (iii) the respective food packaging legislation. Packaging technologies covered include: Modified atmosphere packaging; vacuum packaging; vacuum skin packaging; active food packaging, including oxygen scavengers; carbon dioxide emitters; moisture regulators; antioxidant and antimicrobial packaging; intelligent packaging, including freshness indicators; time–temperature indicators and leakage indicators; retort pouch processing and edible films; coatings/biodegradable packaging, used individually or in combination for maximum preservation potential.
Highlights
Among food commodities, seafood products rank high in commercial value due to their high nutritional value as well as to their specific sensory characteristics upon cooking
The results showed that Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) affected the total viable count (TVC) (2 log reduction compared to air)
The results showed that PV, conjugated dienes (CD), conjugated triene hydroperoxides (TH), FFA, the totox value (TV), TBARS and the p-anisidine value (AV) were lower in films containing (PEBH), resulting in increased oxidative stability of salmon flesh
Summary
Seafood products (fish, crustaceans, mollusks) rank high in commercial value due to their high nutritional value as well as to their specific sensory characteristics upon cooking. Consumers demand fresh seafood products that have undergone minimal processing, maintaining their initial high quality characteristics. In this respect, packaging comprises a critical factor for the seafood industry in order to ensure that products reach short or long distance destinations in the highest quality, while ensuring safety for consumers. 2. Composition and Structure of Seafood The term ‘seafood’ covers: (1) pelagic and fresh water fish; (2) mollusks (clams, oysters, scallops, squid); (3) crustaceans (crab, lobster, shrimp, crayfish); (4) respective aquacultured species. Myotomes are enveloped within collagen macromolecules known as ‘myocommata’ [2] This specific structure of fish muscle results in the characteristic flaky texture of fish flesh. Cod (non-fatty fish) is composed of 81.5% moisture, 16.5% protein, fat 0.4%, 0% carbohydrate and 1.2% ash, whereas salmon (fatty fish) is composed of 63.5% moisture, 17.5% protein, 16.5% fat, 0% carbohydrate and 1% ash
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