High-pressure processing of fish and shellfish products: Safety, quality, and research prospects.

Seafood products have been one of the main drivers behind the popularity of high-pressure processing (HPP) in the food industry owing to a high demand for fresh ready-to-eat seafood products and food safety. This review provides an overview of the advanced knowledge available on the use of HPP for production of wholesome and highly nutritive clean label fish and shellfish products. Out of 653 explored items, 65 articles published during 2016-2021 were used. Analysis of the literature showed that most of the earlier work evaluated the HPP effect on physicochemical and sensorial properties, and limited information is available on nutritional aspects. HPP has several applications in the seafood industry. Application of HPP (400-600 MPa) eliminates common seafood pathogens, such as Vibrio and Listeria spp., and slows the growth of spoilage microorganisms. Use of cold water as a pressure medium induces minimal changes in sensory and nutritional properties and helps in the development of clean label seafood products. This technology (200-350 MPa) is also useful to shuck oysters, lobsters, crabs, mussels, clams, and scallops to increase recovery of the edible meat. High-pressure helps to preserve organoleptic and functional properties for an extended time during refrigerated storage. Overall, HPP helps seafood manufacturers to maintain a balance between safety, quality, processing efficiency, and regulatory compliance. Further research is required to understand the mechanisms of pressure-induced modifications and clean label strategies to minimize these modifications.

Hyperbaric storage at room like temperatures as a possible alternative to refrigeration: evolution and recent advances.

From 2012, the preservation of food products under pressure has been increasingly studied and the knowledge acquired has enlarged since several food products have been studied at different storage conditions. This new food preservation methodology concept called Hyperbaric Storage (HS) has gain relevance due to its potential as a replacement or an improvement to the conventional cold storage processes, such as the traditional refrigeration (RF), or even frosting, from the energetic savings to the reduction of the carbon foot-print. Briefly, HS is capable to inhibit the microbial proliferation or its inactivation which results in the extension of the shelf-life of several food products when compared to RF. Moreover, the overall quality parameters seem not to be affected by HS, being the differences detected on samples over storage similar to lower when compared to the ones stored at RF. This review paper aims to gather data from all studies carried out so far regarding HS performance, mainly at room temperature on fruit juices, meat and fisheries, as well on dairy products and ready-to-eat meals. The HS advantages as a new food preservation methodology are presented and explained, being also discussed the industrial viability and environmental impact of this methodology, as well its limitations.

Comparative effect of a previous 150-MPa treatment on the quality loss of frozen hake stored at different temperatures.

BACKGROUND: This study addresses the quality loss of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) during frozen storage. Its objective was to comparatively analyse the effect of a previous high-pressure processing (HPP) (150 MPa for 2 min) when different storage temperatures (-10, -18 and -30 °C) were employed. RESULTS: Most chemical quality indices (trimethylamine, TMA; dimethylamine, DMA, formaldehyde, FA; free fatty acids, FFAs) provided a marked content increase with freezing and frozen storage time, values being higher by increasing the storage temperature. Previous HPP led to an inhibitory (P < 0.05) effect on the TMA, DMA, FA and FFA formation in frozen fish kept at -10 and -18 °C, the preservative effect being higher at the highest temperature tested; however, in agreement to the low damage development, no effect could be proved on samples stored at -30 °C. Concerning lipid oxidation, peroxides formation was found low, although a slight increasing effect (P < 0.05) was implied in fish corresponding to all temperatures as a result of the previous HPP; furthermore, an inhibitory effect (P < 0.05) on fluorescent compounds formation (tertiary lipid oxidation) was evident after freezing and at month 9 for -10 °C samples. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that a 150-MPa high-pressure treatment may inhibit the formation of degradative molecules such as DMA, FA, TMA and FFAs during the frozen storage at -18 °C (maximum recommended) and -10 °C. However, results have indicated that lowering the storage temperature showed to be more effective than the current HPP (150 MPa for 2 min). © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of high-pressure processing on fungi spores: Factors affecting spore germination and inactivation and impact on ultrastructure.

Food contamination with heat-resistant fungi (HRF), and their spores, is a major issue among fruit processors, being frequently found in fruit juices and concentrates, among other products, leading to considerable economic losses and food safety issues. Several strategies were developed to minimize the contamination with HRF, with improvements from harvesting to the final product, including sanitizers and new processing techniques. Considering consumers' demands for minimally processed, fresh-like food products, nonthermal food-processing technologies, such as high-pressure processing (HPP), among others, are emerging as alternatives to the conventional thermal processing techniques. As no heat is applied to foods, vitamins, proteins, aromas, and taste are better kept when compared to thermal processes. Nevertheless, HPP is only able to destroy pathogenic and spoilage vegetative microorganisms to levels of pertinence for food safety, while bacterial spores remain. Regarding HRF spores (both ascospores and conidiospores), these seem to be more pressure-sensible than bacterial spores, despite a few cases, such as the ascospores of Byssochlamys spp., Neosartorya spp., and Talaromyces spp. that are resistant to high pressures and high temperatures, requiring the combination of both variables to be inactivated. This review aims to cover the literature available concerning the effects of HPP at room-like temperatures, and its combination with high temperatures, and high-pressure cycling, to inactivate fungi spores, including the main factors affecting spores' resistance to high-pressure, such as pH, water activity, nutritional composition of the food matrix and ascospore age, as well as the changes in the spore ultrastructure, and the parameters to consider regarding their inactivation by HPP.

Enhanced control of Bacillus subtilis endospores development by hyperbaric storage at variable/uncontrolled room temperature compared to refrigeration.

The effect of hyperbaric storage on Bacillus subtilis endospores, as a new food preservation methodology with potential to replace the conventional refrigeration processes, was assessed and compared to refrigeration. To do so, three different matrices (McIlvaine buffer, carrot juice and brain-heart infusion broth, BHI-broth) were inoculated with B. subtilis endospores and stored at 25, 50 and 100 MPa at variable/uncontrolled room temperature (18-23 °C), under refrigeration (4 °C), and room temperature at atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa), up to 60 days. Two different quantification procedures were performed to assay both vegetative and endospores (unheated samples) and endospores (heated samples), to assess germination under pressure. The results showed that hyperbaric storage yielded pronounced endospore loads reductions in carrot juice and BHI-broth at 50 and 100 MPa, while in McIlvaine buffer, lower endospore loads reductions were observed. At 25 MPa, the endospores germinated and outgrew in carrot juice. Under refrigeration conditions, both carrot juice and BHI-broth underwent endospore germination and outgrowth after 60 and 9 days of storage, respectively, while in McIlvaine buffer there were no endospore outgrowth. These results suggest that hyperbaric storage at room temperature might not only be a feasible preservation procedure regarding endospores, but also that the food product (matrix characteristics) seems to influence the microbial inactivation that occurs during hyperbaric storage.

Long-Term Effect on Bioactive Components and Antioxidant Activity of Thermal and High-Pressure Pasteurization of Orange Juice.

The long-term effect of thermal pasteurization (TP) and high-pressure processing (HPP) of orange juices stored under refrigeration, on the bioactive components and antioxidant activity, was compared. Total phenolic content (TPC), flavonoid, anthocyanin, and carotenoid contents, the individual content of major phenolic components, and the antioxidant activity, were evaluated in TP- and HPP-treated juices over a 36-day period. At day 0, no significant differences in TPC, and a decrease in carotenoid content after both treatments, were observed. TP caused a decrease of flavonoid and anthocyanin contents, while HPP increased flavonoid content. Three major phenolic components were identified: apigenin-6,8-di-C-glucoside, naringenin-7-O-rutinoside, and hesperetin-7-O-rutinoside, the latter increasing ca. 45% immediately after HPP. During storage, a decrease in TPC, and in the anthocyanin and carotenoid contents of both treated juices was observed, with higher anthocyanin and phenolic contents in HPP juices. A significant increase of hesperetin-7-O-rutinoside content was observed in HPP juice. Both treatments caused a decrease (26% and 13%, respectively) of antioxidant activity. Most of the kinetic profiles followed zero-order patterns, with HPP juices showing a considerably higher half-life than TP ones. These results clearly demonstrate the advantages of HPP for orange juice preservation allowing, also, their nutritional benefits to be enhanced by increasing the content of some bioactive components.

Effect of ionic liquids alkyl chain length on horseradish peroxidase thermal inactivation kinetics and activity recovery after inactivation.

The effects of different alkyl chain lengths of ionic liquids 1-ethyl-, 1-butyl- and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, on the catalytic activity, thermal stability and deactivation kinetics of horseradish peroxidase were studied in the temperature range of 45-85 °C. The presence of 1-ethyl- and 1-butyl-ionic liquids up to 25% (w/v) did not affect significantly the enzyme activity at 25 °C, whereas the addition of 1-hexyl-solvent resulted in lower activity of enzyme. Typical biphasic deactivation profiles were obtained and adequately fitted by a bi-exponential equation. When increasing ionic liquids concentration up to 25% (w/v), the second phase of deactivation became more prominent, till leading to apparent first-order kinetics. Occurrence of activity regain, following thermal deactivation was found, reaching up 60-80% of the initial activity, especially in 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride. Activity regain was particularly noticeable in the first phase of deactivation. Temperature sensitivity of the Soret band maxima indicated that the enzyme prepared in buffer or 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride had similar conformational changes in the haem region, but no correlations were found with activity decrease.

Fresh Fish Degradation and Advances in Preservation Using Physical Emerging Technologies.

Fresh fish is a highly perishable food characterized by a short shelf-life, and for this reason, it must be properly handled and stored to slow down its deterioration and to ensure microbial safety and marketable shelf-life. Modern consumers seek fresh-like, minimally processed foods due to the raising concerns regarding the use of preservatives in foods, as is the case of fresh fish. Given this, emergent preservation techniques are being evaluated as a complement or even replacement of conventional preservation methodologies, to assure food safety and extend shelf-life without compromising food safety. This paper reviews the main mechanisms responsible for fish spoilage and the use of conventional physical methodologies to preserve fresh fish, encompassing the main effects of each methodology on microbiological and chemical quality aspects of this highly perishable food. In this sense, conventional storage procedures (refrigeration and freezing) are counterpointed with more recent cold-based storage methodologies, namely chilling and superchilling. In addition, the use of novel food packaging methodologies (edible films and coatings) is also presented and discussed, along with a new storage methodology, hyperbaric storage, that states storage pressure control to hurdle microbial development and slow down organoleptic decay at subzero, refrigeration, and room temperatures.

Enhanced preservation of vacuum-packaged Atlantic salmon by hyperbaric storage at room temperature versus refrigeration.

Hyperbaric storage at room temperature (HS/RT: 75 MPa/25 °C) of vacuum-packaged fresh Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) loins was studied for 30 days and compared to atmospheric pressure at refrigerated temperatures (AP/5 °C, 30 days) and RT (AP/25 °C, 5 days). Most of the fatty acids were not affected by storage conditions, with only a slight decrease of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content (n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid) for AP samples, reflected in the lower polyene index values obtained and higher oxidation extent. For HS, a lower lipid oxidation extension and a slower increase of myofibrillar fragmentation index values were observed, when compared to AP samples. The volatile profile was similar for the HS and fresh samples, with the HS samples retaining fresh-like alcohols and aldehydes components, which disappeared in AP samples, mainly in AP/25 °C samples. The volatile profile for AP samples (5 and 25 °C) revealed mostly spoilage-like compounds due to microbial activity. Drip loss increased progressively during the 30 days of storage under HS, while a slight decrease of water holding capacity after 5 days was observed, increasing further after 30 days. Regarding textural properties, only resilience was affected by HS, decreasing after 30 days. So, HS/RT could represent an interesting extended preservation methodology of fresh salmon loins, since allows retaining important physicochemical properties for at least 15 days, while refrigeration after 5 days showed already volatile spoilage-like compounds due to microbial activity. Furthermore, this methodology allows additional considerable energy savings when compared to refrigeration.

Chemical-Based Methodologies to Extend the Shelf Life of Fresh Fish-A Review.

Due to its characteristics, fresh fish is a highly perishable food with a very short shelf-life under refrigeration. Several methods have been introduced to slow down its deterioration, such as by means of oxygen depletion of the food package (vacuum packaging), or by changing the natural atmosphere that is in contact with the fresh fish (modified atmosphere packaging), or by the use of chemicals generally recognized as safe: such compounds can be directly applied (by dipping or spraying) or incorporated into packaging materials and slowly migrate to the product, exerting a hurdle effect against microbial development and lipid oxidation (active packaging). This review aims to cover the most recent advances in chemical-based approaches for fresh fish preservation, applied either singly or in combination. Vacuum packaging, modified atmosphere, and active packaging preservation methodologies are presented, along with the inclusion of chemical additives, such as organic acids and natural extracts, and their combination with icing systems. Advantages and disadvantages of these methodologies and their impact on fresh fish quality and shelf-life are discussed, reaching the conclusion that both are positively influenced overall. Indeed, the contribution of chemical-based strategies for fresh fish preservation is undeniable, and is expected to be a research topic of increasing interest in the future.

Physicochemical parameters, lipids stability, and volatiles profile of vacuum-packaged fresh Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) loins preserved by hyperbaric storage at 10 °C.

Lipid stability, physical properties and volatiles profile of vacuum-packaged fresh Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) loins were evaluated after hyperbaric storage at low temperature (HS/LT: 60 MPa/10 °C) and compared to atmospheric pressure and conventional refrigeration (AP/5 °C) after 5, 15 and 30 days, and at low temperature (AP/10 °C), after 5 and 15 days. No variations in drip loss and water holding capacity were observed for HS/LT samples. Compared to AP, HS/LT caused lower changes on muscle fibres, visible by scanning electron micrographs, and a decrease of resilience property (only after 30 days). In addition, myofibrillar fragmentation index did not change at HS/LT. Fatty acids were generally not affected by the different storage conditions, while the polyene index at HS/LT was similar to fresh samples during the 30 days of storage, confirmed by the lower lipid oxidation state of these samples, compared to AP. According to the volatile profile (SPME-GC/MS), HS samples showed to be more similar to the fresh ones, retaining fresh-like alcohols and aldehydes, generally not detected in AP samples after 15 days, the latter presenting spoilage-related compounds probably derived from microbial activity. According to these results, HS/LT represents a promising preservation methodology for fresh salmon loins (and fish in general), retaining better important physicochemical properties for 30 days, when compared to the conventional refrigeration.

Effects of High-Pressure Treatment on the Muscle Proteome of Hake by Bottom-Up Proteomics.

A bottom-up proteomics approach was applied for the study of the effects of high-pressure (HP) treatment on the muscle proteome of fish. The performance of the approach was established for a previous HP treatment (150-450 MPa for 2 min) on frozen (up to 5 months at -10 °C) European hake ( Merluccius merluccius). Concerning possible protein biomarkers of quality changes, a significant degradation after applying a pressure ≥430 MPa could be observed for phosphoglycerate mutase-1, enolase, creatine kinase, fructose bisphosphate aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase, and nucleoside diphosphate kinase; contrary, electrophoretic bands assigned to tropomyosin, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and beta parvalbumin increased their intensity after applying a pressure ≥430 MPa. This repository of potential protein biomarkers may be very useful for further HP investigations related to fish quality.

Impact of different hyperbaric storage conditions on microbial, physicochemical and enzymatic parameters of watermelon juice.

Hyperbaric storage (HS) of raw watermelon juice, up to 10days at 50, 75, and 100MPa at variable/uncontrolled room temperature (18-23°C, RT) was studied and compared with storage at atmospheric pressure (AP) under refrigeration (4°C, RF) and RT, being evaluated microbiological (endogenous and inoculated), physicochemical parameters, and enzymatic activities. Ten days of storage at 50MPa resulted in a microbial growth evolution similar to RF, while at 75/100MPa were observed microbial load reductions on endogenous and inoculated microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua, whose counts were reduced to below the detection limit of 1.00 log CFU/mL), resulting in a shelf-life extension compared to RF. The physicochemical parameters remained stable at 75MPa when compared to the initial raw juice, except for browning degree that increased 1.72-fold, whilst at 100MPa were observed higher colour variations, attributed to a lycopene content decrease (25%), as well as reductions on peroxidase residual activity (16.8%) after 10days, while both polyphenol oxidase and pectin methylesterase residual activities were similar to RF. These outcomes hint HS as a reliable alternative to RF as a new food preservation methodology, allowing energy savings and shelf-life extension of food products. This is the first paper studying the effect of HS on inoculated microorganisms and on a broad number of physicochemical parameters and on endogenous enzymatic activities, for a preservation length surpassing the shelf-life by RF.

Extension of raw watermelon juice shelf-life up to 58days by hyperbaric storage.

Hyperbaric storage (HS) of raw watermelon juice, at 50, 62.5 and 75MPa, at temperatures of 10, 15 and ≈25°C (room temperature, RT), was studied to evaluate shelf-life comparatively to refrigeration (RF, 4°C). Generally, RF caused an increase of microbial loads to values ≥6.0logCFU/mL after 7days of storage. Contrarily, HS at 62.5/75MPa (15°C) showed a reduction of initial loads, by at least 2.5logCFU/mL, up to 58days, while pH and colour values did not changed under these HS conditions. Additionally, the combination of a lower temperature with HS has beneficial effects to control microbial development, particularly for the lower pressure studied (50MPa/10°C). In conclusion, HS increased watermelon juice shelf-life for at least 58days, indicating a great potential for future RF replacement.

A first study comparing preservation of a ready-to-eat soup under pressure (hyperbaric storage) at 25°C and 30°C with refrigeration.

Hyperbaric storage (HS), storage under pressure at 25°C and 30°C, of a ready-to-eat (RTE) soup was studied and compared with refrigeration. Soup was stored at different time (4 and 8 h), temperature (4°C, 25°C, and 30°C), and pressure (0.1, 100, and 150 MPa) conditions, to compare microbial loads and physicochemical parameters. HS resulted in similar (microbial growth inhibition) to better (microbial inactivation) results compared to refrigeration, leading to equal and lower microbial loads, respectively, at the end of storage. Lower/higher pressure (100 vs. 150 MPa) and shorter/longer storage times (4 vs. 8 h) resulted in more pronounced microbial growth inhibition/microbial inactivation. Aerobic mesophiles showed less susceptibility to HS, compared to Enterobacteriaceae and yeast and molds. HS maintained generally the physicochemical parameters at values similar to refrigeration. Thus, HS with no need for temperature control throughout storage and so basically energetically costless, is a potential alternative to refrigeration.

Hyperbaric storage of melon juice at and above room temperature and comparison with storage at atmospheric pressure and refrigeration.

Hyperbaric storage (8h) of melon juice (a highly perishable food) at 25, 30 and 37°C, under pressure at 25-150 MPa was compared with atmospheric pressure storage (0.1 MPa) at the same temperatures and under refrigeration (4°C). Comparatively to the refrigerated condition, hyperbaric storage at 50/75 MPa resulted in similar or lower microbial counts (total aerobic mesophiles, enterobacteriaceae, and yeasts/moulds) while at 100/150 MPa, the counts were lower for all the tested temperatures, indicating in the latter case, in addition to microbial growth inhibition, a microbial inactivation effect. At 25 MPa no microbial inhibition was observed. Physicochemical parameters of all samples stored under pressure (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, browning degree and cloudiness) did not show a clear variation trend with pressure, being the results globally similar to refrigeration storage. These results show the potential of hyperbaric storage, at and above room temperature and with potential energy savings, comparatively to refrigeration.