Seafood products are highly perishable, owing to their high water activity, close to neutral pH, and high content of unsaturated lipids and non-protein nitrogenous compounds. Thus, such products require immediate processing and/or packaging to retain their safety and quality. At the same time, consumers prefer fresh, minimally processed seafood products that maintain their initial quality properties. The present article aims to review the literature over the past decade on: (i) innovative, individual packaging technologies applied to extend the shelf life of fish and fishery products, (ii) the most common combinations of the above technologies applied as multiple hurdles to maximize the shelf life of seafood products, and (iii) the respective food packaging legislation. Packaging technologies covered include: Modified atmosphere packaging; vacuum packaging; vacuum skin packaging; active food packaging, including oxygen scavengers; carbon dioxide emitters; moisture regulators; antioxidant and antimicrobial packaging; intelligent packaging, including freshness indicators; time–temperature indicators and leakage indicators; retort pouch processing and edible films; coatings/biodegradable packaging, used individually or in combination for maximum preservation potential.

Fish and fishery products are among the food commodities of high commercial value, high-quality protein content, vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids, which are beneficial to health. However, seafood products are highly perishable and thus require proper processing to maintain their quality and safety. On the other hand, consumers, nowadays, demand fresh or fresh-like, minimally processed fishery products that do not alter their natural quality attributes. The present article reviews the results of studies published over the last 15 years in the literature on: (i) the main spoilage mechanisms of seafood including contamination with pathogens and (ii) innovative processing technologies applied for the preservation and shelf life extension of seafood products. These primarily include: high hydrostatic pressure, natural preservatives, ozonation, irradiation, pulse light technology and retort pouch processing.

Volatile compounds, physicochemical and sensory attributes of four sweet cherry cultivars (Canada giant, Ferrovia, Lapins and Skeena) grown in Northern Greece were determined. Eighteen volatile compounds were identified and semi-quantified in cherries using solid phase micro extraction in combination with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS). Carbonyl compounds were the most abundant in sweet cherry aroma, followed by alcohols, esters and hydrocarbons/terpenes. Cherry cultivars in order of increasing amounts of volatiles were: Lapins < Canada giant < Ferrovia < Skeena. Physicochemical parameters determined included: titratable acidity (TA), pH, total soluble solids (TSS), maturity index (MI) and total phenolic content (TPC). TA ranged between 0.21 and 0.28 g malic acid/100 g fresh weight (FW). The pH ranged between 3.81 and 3.96. TSS ranged between 13.00 and 16.00 °Brix. MI ranged between 51.8 and 75.0. TPC ranged between 95.14 and 170.35 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g FW. Sensory evaluation showed that cherry colour, in order of increasing intensity, was: Canada giant < Ferrovia < Lapins < Skeena. Respective order for cherry firmness was: Canada giant < Lapins ≤ Ferrovia < Skeena and for flavour: Lapins < Canada giant < Skeena ≤ Ferrovia. Correlation of volatiles to physicochemical and sensory attributes showed varying trends.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the quality and bio-functional properties of Portuguese honeys of different botanical and geographical origins. Quality parameter analyses included the determination of palynological (predominant, secondary, minor and isolated pollen percentage), physicochemical (°Brix, moisture content, pH, electrical conductivity, free acidity, total dissolved solids, salinity, vitamin C content and specific weight) including colour-metrics (CIELAB, Pfund and colour intensity determinations), along with volatile compounds identification using solid phase micro-extraction coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Bio-activity parameter analysis included the determination of in vitro antioxidant activity and total phenolic content using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl and Folin-Ciocalteu assays, respectively. Melissopalynological analysis showed that Portuguese honeys were classified as eucalyptus, chestnut and heather, recording significant variations (p < 0.05) among physicochemical, volatile and bio-activity parameter analyses according to both: botanical and geographical origin. Based on the multi-parameter analysis data Portuguese honeys could be characterized by a distinctive colour, a characteristic aroma, whereas conform to the European legislation relating to honey identity and quality. Specific attention should be given in the case of heather honey which showed the highest in vitro antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. Parameters that were also highly correlated using bivariate statistics.

The purpose of this study was to determine the profile of volatile compounds (aroma) and overall flavor in dessert yogurts prepared from cow and goat milk, using three different, commercially available starter cultures, in the presence or absence of probiotic bacteria and to correlate this to organoleptic evaluation results obtained using a consumer acceptability method. The extraction of volatile compounds was carried out by solid phase micro-extraction; separation and analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Variations among the different classes of compounds (i.e., aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, volatile acids, hydrocarbons, and terpenes) were recorded for different treatments. The results showed that the main volatiles in the cow milk dessert yogurts without Bifidobacterium BB-12 were: acetaldehyde, 2,3-butanedione, 2,3-pentanedione, 3-OH-2-butanone, 2-propanone, hexanoic acid and limonene). Respective volatiles in cow milk dessert yogurts with Bifidobacterium BB-12 were: acetaldehyde, pentanal, hexanal, the same ketones, acetic acid and limonene). The volatiles in goat milk dessert yogurts without Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 were: acetaldehyde, the same ketones, no carboxylic acids, limonene, camphene, α- and β-pinene. Respective volatiles in goat milk dessert yogurts with Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 were: aldehydes acetaldehyde, the same ketones, butanoic acid, α-pinene and camphene varying in concentration in different samples. Based on the results of volatiles and organoleptic evaluation, it can be concluded that dessert yogurts from cow milk without probiotic bacterial strains using the mild and classic starter cultures, and dessert yogurts from goat milk with probiotic bacterial strains using the classic and acidic starter cultures are found to be more organoleptically acceptable by consumers. In most cases, a positive correlation was found between dessert yogurt organoleptically determined flavor and volatiles (aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids).

In the present study, both yeast leavened bread (YLB) and artisanal sourdough wheat bread (SDB) were prepared. The physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of breads were monitored as a function of storage time (T = 25 °C). As expected, the titratable acidity (TA) values of SDB were higher than those of YLB. The aroma profile of SDB was similar to that of YLB, including classes of compounds such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, organic acids, terpenes, and sulfur compounds; however, the concentrations between the two were different. Aroma deterioration of bread during storage was partly related to the loss of several volatiles. Texture and sensory analysis showed that SDB was harder, less elastic, but richer in aroma and light sour taste than YLB. Mold growth was apparent when the population of yeasts/molds reached approximately 4 log cfu/g. This yeast/mold count was reached on days 4–5 for YLB and day 18 + for SDB. A 16S amplicon meta-barcoding analysis showed that the bacterial profile of SDB was dominated by a single genus, (Lactobacillus). Analysis of the eukaryotic load showed that at the genus level, Saccharomyces and Alternaria were the most abundant genera, independently of the gene sequenced (18S or ITS). Based primarily on mold growth and texture data, which proved to be the most sensitive quality parameters, the shelf life was ca. 4–5 days for YLB and 10 days for SDB.