Pressure Shift Freezing: An Alternate Method of Freezing for Meat and Marine Products and Their Quality Characteristics

The comprehensive demand for meat and seafood in the global market has raised a severe need for processing and preservation strategies to conserve their inherent quality. It is widely perceived that the present conventional meat production system engages freezing as the primary preservation technique, and reports have documented several challenges associated with existing freezing approaches, like the creation of ice crystals during phase transition, which causes deterioration of the tissue membrane, destruction of the cell wall, and textural damage to the foods. Thus, interest in alternative food freezing methodologies, such as pressure shift freezing (PSF), has emerged as a matter of immense approaches and commercial interest owing to its massive benefits. This review delivers the fundamentals of PSF, including the mechanisms of ice crystal formation and microbial inactivation. Further, this review briefly states the applications of PSF in meat processing and preservation by compiling recent works. This provides insight into emerging trends and research requirements. High-pressure freezing creates rapid and homogenous ice crystal development all over the food sample. Moreover, the impact of pressure on the quality aspect of PSF-treated food was discussed. Also, the changes in functional characteristics of PSF-treated foods like colour, texture, and WHC have been highlighted. Finally, aspects that can be further notably analysed, the obstruction that confines the implementation of this innovation on a large scale, and opportunities have been presented.