Seafood plays an important role in human diet and is considered not only a reliable source of protein, but also of nutritional significance due to its lipid, vitamin, and mineral constituents. Thus, these constituents are important in consumers' interest in fish products due to the nutritional value and health-promoting characteristics of seafood. However, seafoods are perishable products and the shelf-life is limited in the presence of air and atmospheric oxygen (O 2 ), which also lead to the growth of aerobic spoilage micro-organisms. Hence, preservation of the fresh quality of seafood is essential. Preservation techniques are designed to inhibit or reduce the metabolic changes that lead to fish quality deterioration. Many different techniques have been used to prolong the shelf-life of seafoods and these techniques are based on the control of temperature, water activity, microbial loads, and the available oxygen. This chapter focuses on novel preservation techniques in seafoods.
Seafood preservation techniques
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)MAP is a form of packaging involving the removal of air from the pack and its replacement with a single gas or a mixture of gases. MAP has become an increasingly popular preservation technique in seafood distribution and marketing to meet consumer demands. MAP techniques are now used in a wide range of applications in food products, including raw and cooked red meats, poultry, fruit, fresh pasta, crisps, coffee, tea, vegetables, cheese, bread, fish, and crustaceans, etc. [1].MAP, together with refrigeration, is capable of extending the shelf-life of fish and shellfish. Modification of the atmosphere within the package by decreasing the oxygen concentration while increasing the content of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and/or nitrogen (N 2 ) has been shown to significantly prolong the shelf-life of perishable food products at chill temperatures. However, undoubtedly the single most important concern with the use of MAP products is the potential for the outgrowth and toxin production by the non-proteolytic, Clostridium botulinum type
Handbook of Seafood Q uality, Safety and Health ApplicationsEdited by Cesarettin Alasalvar, Fereidoon Shahidi, Kazuo Miyashita and Udaya Wanasundara