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Foods
Special Issues
Quality Changes of Blue Food During Preservation and Processing
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Quality Changes of Blue Food During Preservation and Processing

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Foods of Marine Origin".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 November 2025 | Viewed by 2409

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yao Zheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai 200090, China
Interests: seafood and fishery products; quality evaluation; preservation and processing; protein oxidation; freezing and frozen storage

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, with the growth of the global population and limited land resources, blue food holds the potential to meet the increasing demand for food. Blue food refers to animals, plants, and algae harvested from freshwater and marine environments. Blue food not only has the capacity to supply high-quality protein to over 3.2 billion people but also offers a variety of essential nutrients such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins. However, blue food is highly susceptible to quality deterioration due to factors such as microorganisms, enzymes, and oxidation reactions, leading to disadvantages in both consumer acceptability and commodity value.

This Special Issue welcomes the most recent contributions that investigate the impact of preservation techniques and processing methods on the eating qualities of blue food. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. The relationship between various factors and quality changes of blue food during preservation and processing;
  2. Mechanisms and control methods of quality changes of blue food during storage and processing;
  3. Novel methods for quality determination of blue food during storage and processing.

This Special Issue focuses on preservation and processing, but cultivation will not be considered. Additionally, topics involving safety or disease will also not be considered. This Special Issue, by understanding the quality changes and underlying mechanisms of blue foods during preservation and processing, aims to establish targeted control methods to reduce post-capture losses, thus contributing to ending hunger and accelerating the creation of a truly sustainable global food system.

Dr. Yao Zheng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • blue food
  • preservation techniques
  • processing methods
  • quality evaluation
  • sensory attributes
  • packaging strategies
  • shelf-life extension
  • quality control

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 6999 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Bay Scallop (Argopecten irradians) Product Quality: Moderate Freezing as an Effective Strategy for Improving Adductor Muscle Gel Properties
by Kexin Chang, Yufan Lin, Sijia Huang, Xinru Fan, Yongsheng Ma, Meng Li and Qiancheng Zhao
Foods 2025, 14(8), 1371; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14081371 - 16 Apr 2025
Viewed by 280
Abstract
The bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) adductor is an attractive raw material for the production of surimi-like products. The gelling properties of raw materials directly affect the quality of surimi-like products. To assess the potential of processing frozen bay scallop adductors into [...] Read more.
The bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) adductor is an attractive raw material for the production of surimi-like products. The gelling properties of raw materials directly affect the quality of surimi-like products. To assess the potential of processing frozen bay scallop adductors into surimi-like products, the effects of short-term freezing treatment on the endogenous transglutaminase (TGase) activity, myofibrillar protein (MP) structure and gelling properties of bay scallop adductors were investigated during 14 days of frozen storage (−18 °C). The results showed that TGase activity in adductor muscles increased significantly during the first 7 days. After 7–14 days, the carbonyl and sulfhydryl contents of the MPs notably changed (increased then decreased). The β-turn content of the MPs increased, indicating stretching and flexibility. Surface hydrophobicity, fluorescence intensity and sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis demonstrated changes in the tertiary structure of the MPs. Compared with gels from fresh samples, gels from scallop adductors frozen for 1 day presented significantly better texture characteristics (breaking force, gel strength, hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness) and higher water-holding capacity (p < 0.05). However, these properties significantly decreased on the 7th and 14th days (p < 0.05). Microstructural analysis revealed a more compact gel network from 1-day-frozen adductor muscles. These changes in TGase activity and MP structure are key factors influencing the gelling properties of frozen bay scallop adductors. This study provides new insights for improving gel properties during the frozen storage of bay scallop adductors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Changes of Blue Food During Preservation and Processing)
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16 pages, 3103 KiB  
Article
Effects of Hot-Air Drying Temperatures on Quality and Volatile Flavor Components of Cooked Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba)
by Ruxin Zhang, Di Yu, Peng Wang, Yujun Liu, Hanfeng Zheng, Lechang Sun, Jie Zheng and Hai Chi
Foods 2025, 14(7), 1221; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14071221 - 31 Mar 2025
Viewed by 316
Abstract
Hot-air drying is a key step for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) onboard processing; however, few studies have explored the effects of different drying temperatures on the quality and flavor alternations of Antarctic krill. In this study, we investigated the effects of [...] Read more.
Hot-air drying is a key step for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) onboard processing; however, few studies have explored the effects of different drying temperatures on the quality and flavor alternations of Antarctic krill. In this study, we investigated the effects of hot-air drying temperatures on the physicochemical properties and flavor of Antarctic krill. Sensory evaluation, as well as physical and chemical property tests, revealed that Antarctic krill treated with hot-air drying exhibited substantial changes in moisture status, lipid oxidation indices, and b* value. The sensory evaluation of Antarctic krill under high temperatures (120 °C and 150 °C) showed higher scores (8.45 ± 0.05 and 8.58 ± 0.22, respectively) on smells, whereas the color changes caused by high temperatures also resulted in lower overall sensory evaluation scores. The POV and TBARS values reached the highest at 26.63 ± 0.28 mg/g and 1.45 ± 0.19 mg/100 g, respectively. The b* value decreased significantly to 22.32 ± 4.56 following 150 °C treatment. Furthermore, a total of 53 volatile compounds were identified by GC-IMS, and the results showed that aldehydes, alcohols, alkanes, ketones, pyrazines, and furans were the main flavor sources of Antarctic krill. At the same time, the GC-MS results showed that the thermal process had no significant effect on the nutrient content of Antarctic krill. The findings obtained in this study provide foundational information for future research on ship-borne processing and high-value utilization of Antarctic krill. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Changes of Blue Food During Preservation and Processing)
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16 pages, 1964 KiB  
Article
Integrated Metagenomic and LC–MS/MS Analysis Reveals the Biogenic Amine-Producing Strains of Two Typical Chinese Traditional Fish Products: Fermented Mandarin Fish (Siniperca chuatsi) and Semi-Dried Yellow Croaker (Larimichthys crocea)
by Xuan Zhang, Hai Chi, Di Peng, Mei Jiang, Cuihua Wang, Haiyan Zhang, Wei Kang and Lei Li
Foods 2025, 14(6), 1016; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14061016 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 401
Abstract
Two typical fish products—fermented mandarin fish and semi-dried yellow croaker—are associated with biogenic amines (BAs), which are harmful to human health. The objective of this study was to investigate the bacterial ecology of the two fish products and to determine their capacity for [...] Read more.
Two typical fish products—fermented mandarin fish and semi-dried yellow croaker—are associated with biogenic amines (BAs), which are harmful to human health. The objective of this study was to investigate the bacterial ecology of the two fish products and to determine their capacity for producing BAs. Putrescine and cadaverine were major BAs detected in the fish products. Concentrations of BAs were significantly corrected with microbial count (p < 0.05). BA-producing isolates (33) in the two fish products were all multiple BA producers. Several of them, including Lactobacillus sakei, Bacillus cereus and Hafnia alvei isolated from fermented mandarin fish, as well as Shewanella baltica, Aeromonas veronii, and Photobacterium phosphoreum isolated from semi-dried yellow croaker, showed remarkable BA-producing capacity. Hafnia alvei produced the greatest abundance of putrescine, cadaverine, tyramine and 2-phenylethylamine. Lactobacillus sakei mainly produced tryptamine and putrescine. Photobacterium phosphoreum showed the strongest histamine-producing capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Changes of Blue Food During Preservation and Processing)
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13 pages, 3554 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Volatile and Non-Volatile Compounds of Ice-Stored Large Yellow Croaker (Larimichthys crocea) Affected by Different Post-Harvest Handling Methods
by Yao Zheng, Yuan Ma, Na Lin, Xu Yang, Junjie Wu and Quanyou Guo
Foods 2025, 14(3), 431; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14030431 - 28 Jan 2025
Viewed by 783
Abstract
To compare the impact of different post-harvest handling methods on volatile and non-volatile compounds, a total of 54 live large yellow croakers were subjected to commercial slaughter (CS), spinal cord cutting (SCC), or spinal cord cutting and bleeding (SCCB). The fish samples were [...] Read more.
To compare the impact of different post-harvest handling methods on volatile and non-volatile compounds, a total of 54 live large yellow croakers were subjected to commercial slaughter (CS), spinal cord cutting (SCC), or spinal cord cutting and bleeding (SCCB). The fish samples were ice-stored for 72 h, followed by the analysis of volatile compounds using gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry and non-volatile compounds using LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics. The results revealed the detection of a total of 28 volatile organic compounds, with 23 being successfully identified, predominantly including alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, and heterocyclic compounds. Substances such as (E)-2-nonenal and 2-butanone are highly sensitive to post-harvest handling methods during ice storage. Furthermore, 943 non-volatile metabolites were identified, showing significant differences in 180, 100, 117, and 186 metabolites across comparisons of SCC 0 h/CS 0 h, SCCB 0 h/CS 0 h, SCC 72 h/CS 72 h, and SCCB 72 h/CS 72 h, respectively. Notably, the altered metabolic pathways mainly involved fatty acid and amino acid metabolism, including pathways like glycerophospholipid metabolism and arginine biosynthesis. This study revealed the potential mechanisms underlying the enhancement of fish quality through spinal cord cutting and bleeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Changes of Blue Food During Preservation and Processing)
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