The growing interest from consumers toward healthy and nutritious products and their benefits for health has increased the consumption of whole and processed fish. One of the main problems of fish is the short shelf life, especially when it is processed as in the case of burgers. The use of edible coating is an interesting strategy to extend the quality and safety of the product, reducing the need for artificial preservatives. This study evaluated the use of chitosan-based edible film formulated with sea fennel plant and sea fennel extracts. The analyses showed than the use of edible film extended the shelf life of fish burgers regardless of the incorporation of sea fennel mainly associated to the gas barrier properties and selective permeability of the film applied to the fish surface. The incorporation of sea fennel in the films did not produce any antimicrobial enhancement, although sea fennel (mostly extract) produced a better pH and enhanced the antioxidant properties and lipid oxidation of fish burgers. However, sensory analyses showed than fish burgers coated with sea fennel film plant had better acceptability than those with sea fennel extracts, probably due to the better odour and colour of the whole plant during storage. The study showed that the use of sea fennel plant at 12.5% extended the shelf life of fish burgers using a safe and clean label strategy.

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is a non-thermal technology whose ability to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms gives it great potential for use in the food industry as an alternative to traditional thermal methods. Multiple investigations have been reviewed in which the cold plasma is generated through a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) type reactor, using the atmosphere of the food packaging as the working gas. The results are grouped into meats, fruits and vegetables, dairy and lastly cereals. Microbial decontamination is due to the action of the reactive species generated, which diffuse into the treated food. In some cases, the treatment has a negative impact on the quality. Before industrializing its use, alterations in colour, flavour and lipid oxidation, among others, must be reduced. Furthermore, scaling discharges up to larger regions without compromising the plasma homogeneity is still a significant difficulty. The combination of DBD with other non-thermal technologies (ultrasound, chemical compounds, magnetic field) improved both the safety and the quality of food products. DBD efficacy depends on both technological parameters (input power, gas composition and treatment time) and food intrinsic properties (surface roughness, moisture content and chemistry).