Recent advances in preservation and freshness monitoring methods for fish: a review on the quality and structural changes of fish after slaughter

Abstract

Fish is a popular and nutritious food, which faces rapid spoilage due to its high protein content, leading to a short shelf life. Consequently, research has been directed towards effective preservation techniques and monitoring methods to address this challenge. This review delves into advancements in fish preservation and freshness monitoring, highlighting the perishable nature of fish owing to its protein content. It examines post-slaughter quality and structural changes in fish meat, recent preservation methods including physical methods and packaging approaches, and proposes a theoretical framework for further development in fish preservation and freshness assessment. Key areas of focus include sensory quality changes, pH value, water-holding capacity, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance value, TVB-N value, structural changes post-slaughter, stress-related muscle metabolism alterations, enzymatic myofibrillar proteolysis, and lipid impacts on fish quality. Additionally, the review discusses preservation methods like physical treatments, ultrasound, modified atmosphere packaging, vacuum packaging, and active packaging, along with monitoring techniques such as sensory bionic technology and spectroscopy technology for assessing fish freshness.