Multiple Freeze-Thaw Cycles in Aquatic Foods: Review of Product Quality

Aquatic foods are among the most beneficial nutritional products, boasting numerous beneficial components for human health. Freezing is widely used for long-term preservation of processed aquatic foods. However, improper freezing and particularly post-freezing temperature fluctuations affect product quality. Especially the large size of slowly freezing ice crystals, the movement of water between the tissues as a result of thawing and refreezing, and the recrystallization reduce the physical, chemical, and microbiological quality values. As a result, product texture is damaged, protein denaturation results in decreased water holding capacity (WHC), and various adverse effects, such as color loss and increased lipid oxidation, occur. Numerous studies have investigated the application of multiple Freeze-Thaw (F-T) cycles to aquatic foods to determine these effects. These studies have focused on determining the changes that occur because of multiple F-T cycles, as well as methods to reduce their effects. Optimizing freezing and thawing processes, adding different additives, glazing, and using novel technologies such as ultrasound are among the methods being investigated to reduce the negative effects of multiple F-T cycles in aquatic foods. In this review, studies on multiple F-T cycles in aquatic foods are compiled and their effects and prevention methods are presented with the literature.