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.     

The microbiology of minimally processed fresh fruits and vegetables

Minimally processed fresh (MPF) fruits and vegetables are good media for growth of microorganisms. They have been involved in outbreaks because of the consumption of products contaminated by pathogens. They are also sensitive to various spoilage microorganisms such as pectinolytic bacteria, saprophytic Gram‐negative bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and yeasts. Contamination of MPF fruits and vegetables occurs at every stage of the food chain, from cultivation to processing. Polluted environments during cultivation or poor hygienic conditions in processing increase the risk of contamination with foodborne pathogens. Although MPF fruits and vegetables may harbor psychrotrophic microorganisms such as fluorescent pseudomonads or Listeria monocytogenes, good control of refrigeration temperature limits growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. Modified atmospheres are often efficient to maintain or improve visual and organoleptic quality of MPF fruits and vegetables, but their effects on microorganisms are inconsistent. Chemical disinfection can partially reduce the initial bacterial contamination; irradiation seems to be more efficient. The applications of legislations and quality assurance systems to control contamination, survival, and growth of foodborne pathogens in MPF fruits and vegetables are discussed.     

Early detection of food pathogens and food spoilage microorganisms: Application of metabolomics

BackgroundFood safety is a major issue, with a large number of people around the world suffering from illness due to the consumption of contaminated and unsafe food products. An early detection of food pathogens and spoilage microorganisms is an important step that can help to control a foodborne outbreak, thus avoiding the loss of a massive amount of food products.Scope and approachMetabolomics is generally a hypothesis generating tool that makes use of different analytical instruments to analyse as many metabolites as possible in a given biological sample. Metabolomics has already been successfully applied to different areas of food science. Here, I present metabolomics as a valuable tool for studying the metabolism of food pathogens and spoilage microorganisms.Key findings and conclusionsThe scientific area of metabolomics has improved tremendously over last decade. Due to the rapid development of instrumental platforms, it is now possible to analyse a wide range of metabolites present in food and produced by microorganisms. This approach has a high potential to determine biomarkers which can later be used for the development of early detection tools for food pathogens and spoilage microorganisms, thus ensuring a better management of food safety.     

鱼类产品中优势腐败菌、天然防腐剂及保鲜技术的研究进展

新鲜和经温和加工的鱼类产品越来越受人们欢迎,包括更容易患上食源性疾病的人,这带来了新的食品安全问题。新鲜和经温和加工的鱼类产品由于一群微生物的作用而变质,其中有能力控制和产生代谢产物的优势腐败菌,直接影响了产品的感官特性,导致消费者的排斥。近年来,人们付出了相当大的努力研究了鱼类产品中的优势腐败菌,以及寻找能够抑制鱼类产品中优势腐败菌的天然防腐剂和保鲜技术,以提高产品的质量和保质期。本文概述了国内外一些鱼类产品在低温条件下存在的优势腐败菌,以及3种鱼类产品中优势腐败菌概况,介绍了部分天然防腐剂及保鲜技术在鱼类产品中的应用情况,展望了鱼类产品中优势腐败菌、天然防腐剂及保鲜技术的研究方向。     

Metabolomics—The new frontier in food safety and quality research

Monitoring of food safety and quality is one of the major concerns now-a-days and consumers all over the world are becoming more aware about this than ever before. Therefore, many studies already have been undertaken to determine the food composition and also to gain knowledge on the metabolism of food spoilage microorganisms. Metabolomics has been successfully applied to food science due to the recent advancement of instrumental techniques and the availability of many metabolite databases that allow the detection and identification of over 1000 metabolites in food products. Metabolomics also has high potential in identification of biomarkers related to food spoilage by food pathogens that may lead to the development of early detection techniques and control of pathogenic microbes. Therefore, here we present metabolomics as the innovative frontier of food safety and quality research by providing insights on how this approach can help to determine microbiological and chemical hazards (e.g. pesticides and contaminants) present in different food products.     

Microbial quality and safety of milk and milk products in the 21st century

Milk and milk products have been utilized by humans for many thousands of years. With the advent of metagenomic studies, our knowledge on the microbiota of milk and milk products, especially as affected by the environment, production, and storage parameters, has increased. Milk quality depends on chemical parameters (fat and protein content and absence of inhibitory substances), as well as microbial and somatic cells counts, and affects the price of milk. The effects of hygiene and effective cooling on the spoilage microbiota have shown that proteolytic and lipolytic bacteria such as Pseudomonas or Acinetobacter spp. predominate the spoilage bacterial populations. These bacteria can produce heat‐stable proteases and lipases, which remain active after pasteurization and thus can spoil the milk during prolonged storage. Additionally, milk can become contaminated after pasteurization and therefore there is still a high demand on developing better cleaning and sanitation regimes and equipment, as well as test systems to (quantitatively) detect relevant pathogenic or spoilage microorganisms. Raw milk and raw milk cheese consumption is also increasing worldwide with the growing demand of minimally processed, sustainable, healthy, and local foods. In this context, emerging and re‐emerging pathogens once again represent a major food safety challenge. As a result of global warming, it is conceivable that not only microbiological risks but also chemical risks relating to presence of mycotoxins or plant toxins in milk will increase. Herein, we provide an overview of the major microbial hazards occurring in the 21st century.     

Spoilage and shelf‐life extension of fresh fish and shellfish

Fresh fish and shellfish are highly perishable products due to their biological composition. Under normal refrigerated storage conditions, the shelf life of these products is limited by enzymatic and microbiological spoilage. However, with increasing consumer demands for fresh products with extended shelf life and increasing energy costs associated with freezing and frozen storage, the fish‐processing industry is actively seeking alternative methods of shelf life preservation and marketability of fresh, refrigerated fish and at the same time economizing on energy costs. Additional methods that could fulfill these objectives include chemical decontamination, low‐dose irradiation, ultra‐high pressure, and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). This review focuses on the biochemical and microbiological composition of fresh fish/shellfish, the spoilage patterns in these products, factors influencing spoilage, and the combination treatments that can be used in conjunction with refrigeration to extend the shelf life and keeping quality of fresh fish/shellfish. The safety concerns of minimally processed/MAP fish, specifically with respect to the growth of Clostridium botulinum type E, is also addressed.     

Natural compounds to preserve fresh fish burgers

Natural antimicrobial compounds to control the quality decay of a fresh fish burger were studied. In particular, thymol, lemon extract and grape fruit seed extract (GFSE), at 20, 40 and 80 ppm, have been tested against the main spoilage microorganisms inoculated in fish burgers stored at 5 °C. The evolution of mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria was also monitored. The sensorial quality decay was determined by means of a panel test, which assessed odour, colour, texture, drip loss and general appearance during the storage period. Results show that all the active substances efficiently slowed down the growth of the spoilage microorganisms. In particular, GFSE was the most efficient against Photobacterium phosphoreum , Shewanella putrefaciens and mesophilic bacteria, whereas thymol was the most efficient against both psychrotrophic bacteria and Pseudomonas fluorescens . Microbial growth was the factor limiting fresh fish burger acceptability.     

Microbial and safety implications of the use of modified atmospheres to extend the storage life of fresh meat and fish

Recently there has been a renewed interest in the use of modified and controlled atmospheres to extend the shelf-life of fresh muscle foods at reasonable cost. The use of vacuum packaging, hypobaric conditions and atmospheres based on gas blends (CO₂, O₂, N₂, CO) in fresh meat and fish preservation, recent trends in this area, and the possible food safety implications of the application of such technologies, are reviewed in this paper. Oxygen depletion and/or CO₂ addition into a package are effective in retarding the growth of the typical aerobic spoilage bacteria in muscle foods. Yet there is a possibility that when such foods are temperature abused they may become unsafe with respect to certain foodborne bacterial pathogens and especially with respect to Clostridium botulinum. The question of whether or not spoilage may precede toxigenesis and thus alarm the processor or the consumer has not been fully clarified. Lack of such knowledge has remained the limiting factor to greater commercial expansion, especially by the fish industry. Carbon dioxide enriched atmospheres have thus far received the greatest commercial usage for the bulk shipment of muscle food. Under strict temperature control atmospheric modification can extend the shelf-life of such foods safely. More studies are needed before we fully utilize modified atmosphere technology. Such studies should include investigations on the action and interactions of the various factors in modified atmospheres upon the potential growth of pathogens as well as development or use of additional antimicrobial ‘hurdles’ to assure a predictable safety.     

Technologies and Mechanisms for Safety Control of Ready-to-eat Muscle Foods: An Updated Review

Ready-to-eat (RTE) muscle foods refer to a general category of meat and poultry products that are fully cooked and consumable without reheating. These products, including whole and sliced pork, beef, turkey, chicken, and variety of meats, in the forms of ham, roast, rolls, sausage, and frankfurter, are widely available in the delicatessen section of retail stores or various food service outlets. However, difficulties in avoidance of contamination by foodborne pathogens, notably Listeria monocytogenes, during product postlethality repackaging render RTE meats labile to outbreaks. Accordingly, the USDA-FSIS has established processing guidelines and regulations, which are constantly updated, to minimize foodborne pathogens in RTE products. Technologies that complement good manufacturing practice have been developed to control RTE meat safety. Among them, various antimicrobial product formulations, postpackaging pasteurization (thermal and nonthermal), and antimicrobial packaging are being used. Through these efforts, outbreaks linked to RTE meat consumption have substantially reduced in recent years. However, the pervasive and virulent nature of L. monocytogenes and the possible presence of other cold-tolerant pathogens entail continuing developments of new intervention technologies. This review updates existing and emerging physical and chemical methods and their mode of action to inactivate or inhibit threatening microorganisms in RTE muscle foods.     

A 100-Year Review: Microbiology and safety of milk handling

Microbes that may be present in milk can include pathogens, spoilage organisms, organisms that may be conditionally beneficial (e.g., lactic acid bacteria), and those that have not been linked to either beneficial or detrimental effects on product quality or human health. Although milk can contain a full range of organisms classified as microbes (i.e., bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoans), with few exceptions (e.g., phages that affect fermentations, fungal spoilage organisms, and, to a lesser extent, the protozoan pathogens Cryptosporidium and Giardia) dairy microbiology to date has focused predominantly on bacteria. Between 1917 and 2017, our understanding of the microbes present in milk and the tools available for studying those microbes have changed dramatically. Improved microbiological tools have enabled enhanced detection of known microbes in milk and dairy products and have facilitated better identification of pathogens and spoilage organisms that were not known or well recognized in the early 20th century. Starting before 1917, gradual introduction and refinement of pasteurization methods throughout the United States and many other parts of the world have improved the safety and quality of milk and dairy products. In parallel to pasteurization, others strategies for reducing microbial contamination throughout the dairy chain (e.g., improved dairy herd health, raw milk tests, clean-in-place technologies) also played an important role in improving microbial milk quality and safety. Despite tremendous advances in reducing microbial food safety hazards and spoilage issues, the dairy industry still faces important challenges, including but not limited to the need for improved science-based strategies for safety of raw milk cheeses, control of postprocessing contamination, and control of sporeforming pathogens and spoilage organisms.     

Combining reformulation,active packaging and non-thermal post-packaging decontamination technologies to increase the microbiological quality and safety of cooked ready-to-eat meat products

BackgroundCooked ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products are subjected to contamination of spoilage microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria and pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes. These microorganisms contaminate cooked RTE meat products after the cooking step and may further grow during shelf-life potentially leading to spoilage or foodborne diseases, respectively. In the current context of salt, fat and chemical preservatives reduction in meat products formulations, a combined strategy that considers the development of more robust formulations, active packaging and the use of non-thermal post-packaging decontamination strategies seems required to ensure shelf-stable and safe RTE cooked food products.Scope and approachThe main objective of this review was to discuss the aspects related to reformulation, active packaging and the application of non-thermal decontamination technologies at the post-packaging step of cooked RTE meat products, their advantages, limitations and main challenges for their implementation.Key findings and conclusionsIn general, post-packaging decontamination technologies aim to reduce or inactivate pathogens and spoilage microorganisms present on the surface of ready-to-eat meat products. Low-temperature plasma, high-pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric fields, pulsed ultraviolet light and ultrasound are promising alternatives in this segment. However, the choice of the most appropriate approach for post-packaging decontamination of cooked ready-to-eat meat products depends on the type of product and the technological objectives. Meat products formulation and packaging material properties should be considered while defining a post-packaging decontamination approach. Although they are advantageous, non-thermal technologies may present certain limitations such as the increase of oxidative reactions over the shelf-life.     

乳酸菌在食用农产品安全生产中的应用研究进展

食用农产品作为食品加工的源头,对食品的质量安全和品质起关键性的作用。作为食品安全的首要环节,食用农产品的安全生产问题已成为近年来各国学者研究的热点。随着对乳酸菌生物特性和安全性能研究的深入,利用乳酸菌减少生产中农药和化学肥料使用过程中带来的危害从而获得绿色食用农产品受到众多消费者的关注。当前,乳酸菌在保障食用农产品质量安全领域发挥了越来越大的作用。本文综述了国内外有关乳酸菌在食用农产品拮抗致病微生物和腐败微生物、重金属和农药残留的去除、真菌毒素降解及果树病虫害防控等领域的最新研究进展,旨在为促进乳酸菌在食用农产品中的应用发展和食用农产品加工质量控制提供新思路,同时提出了乳酸菌未来研究的方向和可能面临的挑战。     

Recent developments of natural antimicrobials and antioxidants on fish and fishery food products

Fish and fishery products (FFP) are highly perishable due to their high nutritional value and moisture content. The spoilage is mainly caused by microorganisms and chemical reactions, especially lipid oxidation, leading to losses in quality and market value. Microbiological and lipid deteriorations of fishery-derived products directly lower their nutritive value and pose the risk of toxicity for human health. Increasing demand for safe FFP brings about the preservation using additives from natural origins without chemical additives due to their safety and strict regulation. Antimicrobials and antioxidants from natural sources have exhibited an excellent control over the growth of microorganisms causing fish spoilage via different mechanisms. They also play a major role in retarding lipid oxidation by acting at various stages of oxidation. Antimicrobials and antioxidants from natural sources are usually regarded as safe with no detrimental effects on the quality attributes of FFP. This review provides recent literature on the different antioxidant and antimicrobial agents from natural sources, focusing on microbial and oxidative spoilage mechanisms, their inhibition system, and their applications to retard spoilage, maintain safety, and extend the shelf life of FFP. Their applications and benefits have been revisited.     

Fluid dairy product quality and safety: looking to the future

The fiercely competitive nature of the US beverage industry will drive the fluid milk sector of the dairy industry to improve product quality and shelf life to enable dairy beverages to compete with innovative new introductions as well as with currently popular shelf-stable products. The recent substantial growth in the volume of flavored milk sales specifically suggests that attention is needed to improve these products. Further, increasing public awareness and regulatory attention directed toward food safety issues highlight the need for the dairy industry to proactively address and eliminate emerging food safety issues that may negatively impact the image of dairy products. Shelf life and sensory profiles of high temperature short time pasteurized fluid milk products are presented, illustrating the need for greater attention to controlling contaminating microorganisms in processed fluid milk products. Bacterial spoilage patterns of flavored versus unflavored milks are compared, and suggestions are presented for extending flavored product shelf lives. Strategies currently applied to extend shelf life are reviewed. Food safety issues facing the dairy industry are presented within the context of an overview of foodborne illnesses in the United States. The pressing need to determine thermal resistance characteristics of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis is described.     

Opportunities and challenges in pulsed electric field processing of dairy products

Consumer demand and current market conditions warrant investigation of dairy processing technologies that can deliver improved product quality and stability and reduced energy use during processing, without compromising product and process safety. One candidate technology for the extension of shelf-life in dairy products is pulsed electric field (PEF) processing. PEF is considered to be an effective, non-thermal intervention that appears to hold some promise. Research on the application of PEF to control spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms and enzyme systems in dairy products spans a wide array of processing equipment and reaction conditions. PEF has been reported to effectively reduce the numbers of both pathogens and spoilage organisms in milk; however, there is a high degree of variability between studies. The application of PEF in combination with lower temperature thermal processing can deliver comparable reductions in microbial load without significant detrimental effects to the sensory and physico-chemical properties of food products.     

Safety Assessment of Fresh and Processed Seafood Products by MALDI-TOF Mass Fingerprinting

Foodborne intoxications caused by the consumption of fish and other products of marine origin contaminated with bacterial pathogens are an ever-present threat, either due to bacteria and/or its metabolites. In addition, the rapid spoilage of seafood due to microbial activity, results in high economic losses. The development of the microbiota in seafood products depends on the microbiological ambience of capture, processing and storage, and the applied preservation method. Thus, pathogenic and spoilage bacterial species in seafood may come from the indigenous microbiota of the aquatic ambience or are introduced by contamination during processing. Rapid and accurate bacterial species identification is essential for an effective control program to ensure safety and quality of either processed or minimally processed seafood. In the present work, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry was successfully applied to identify 26 bacterial strains isolated from fresh fish and processed seafood samples. The approach was based on the comparison of unknown spectra to a reference spectral library and demonstrated to be a fast and accurate technique for bacterial species differentiation, which can be used for the rapid identification of foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria potentially present in products of marine origin.     

Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella in ready-to-eat food in Catalonia, Spain

Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella are pathogenic bacteria that can contaminate food products during or after processing. Ready-to-eat (RTE) food does not undergo any treatment to ensure its safety before consumption, and therefore risk of foodborne disease must be considered if these pathogens are present in the food. To evaluate the prevalence of these pathogens in RTE food, 140 RTE fish product samples, 501 RTE meat product samples, 462 RTE dairy samples, and 123 RTE dishes and desserts, providing a total of 1,226 samples, were collected from retail stores and food industry and analyzed for the presence of L. monocytogenes. A total of 1,379 samples consisting of 187 RTE fish products and 569 RTE meat products, 484 RTE dairy products, and 139 RTE dishes and desserts were collected and analyzed for the presence of Salmonella. L. monocytogenes was isolated from 20% of frozen Atlantic bonito small pies, 7.9% of smoked salmon samples, 11.1% of the pork luncheon meat samples, 6.2% of frozen chicken croquettes, 16.9% of cured dried sausage samples, 12.5% of cooked ham samples, and 20% of cooked turkey breast samples. L. monocytogenes was also found to be present in 1.3% of fresh salty cheese samples and 15.1% of frozen cannelloni samples. Salmonella was isolated from 1.2% of smoked salmon samples, 1.5% of frozen chicken croquettes, 2% of cooked ham samples, and 11.1% of cured dried sausage samples. Overall, occurrence of these pathogens in RTE foods was similar to that previously reported in the literature.     

机器学习在肉类微生物安全中的应用研究进展

肉品营养丰富,极易受到致病菌、腐败菌等有害微生物的污染,其食用安全性备受关注。近年来,机器学习方法在食品安全领域内得到了充分应用。本文分别从肉品中有害微生物的检测和预测建模2 个角度对机器学习方法的应用进行综述,分析了现阶段机器学习方法的不足,并对其在肉类微生物安全中的发展前景进行展望。