Non-thermal technologies for seafood preservation and shelf-life extension: a detailed review

In recent years, seafood has played a vital role in global nutrition and economic livelihoods. Consumers increasingly demand convenient and minimally processed seafood with fresh-like characteristics and an extended shelf life, driven by lifestyle and nutritional considerations. Achieving extended shelf life remains challenging with conventional thermal processing or cutting-edge preservation technologies. Thus, non-thermal technologies (NTTs) for seafood processing and preservation have emerged to address these challenges. These methods have attracted considerable attention from food scientists due to their minimal impact on sensory and nutritional properties, thereby extending shelf-life. Non-thermal treatments prolong shelf-life by inhibiting or inactivating pathogenic microorganisms. Microbial inactivation is highly energy-efficient, resulting in superior quality products. High-grade non-thermal seafood processing better preserves nutritious components and sensory qualities compared with conventional thermal processing. This review focuses on the application of NTTs in seafood preservation and shelf-life extension. Various NTTs, their role in shelf-life extension, their contribution to food safety and the associated implementation challenges are discussed. Overall, this literature indicates that NTTs generally achieve greater shelf-life extension and quality retention than conventional approaches, though outcomes vary depending on the specific technology, processing parameters, and product characteristics.