Foodborne Hazards and Novel Technologies in Ready‐to‐Eat Crustaceans

ABSTRACT The market for ready‐to‐eat (RTE) crustaceans has been expanding in recent years. Conventional heating (CH) (boiling and steaming) has been used for decades for the processing of RTE crustaceans. However, some disadvantages, such as lack of uniformity of heating, low heat transfer efficiency, and generation of a large amount of wastewater, have been highlighted. To optimize the processing for safe and high‐quality RTE crustaceans, the identification of major hazards is necessary and the interventions of green, sustainable, and novel technologies attract increasing attention. In this review, important biological and chemical hazards in crustaceans are discussed. CH and promising novel thermal and nonthermal processing technologies are reviewed with their basic mechanisms and research advances in RTE crustacean processing. Then, challenges and future work are proposed. Biological hazards, including Listeria monocytogenes , norovirus, Salmonella , and Vibrio spp., are of great concern for raw crustaceans. L. monocytogenes is a persistent hazard that places a burden on crustacean processing environments. Most chemical hazards are caused by indigenous habitats, including heavy metals, biotoxins, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. Thermal technologies such as sous vide, moderate electric field, and microwave are promising in RTE crustacean processing. Individual effects on microbial hazards of nonthermal technologies like high‐pressure processing (HPP) and ultrasound (US) are limited. Synergistic effects of less intensity of nonthermal treatment with thermal processes such as HPP‐ and US‐assisted cooking showed great potential and advantages. However, more research is still needed to scale up their use in an industrial setting.