Journal of Food Safety and Quality

As consumer awareness of food quality and its grading continues to increase, there is a growing focus on developing effective, reliable and non-destructive methods for assessing food freshness. Aquatic product freshness indicators are typically constructed from sensitive materials and fixed carriers. These materials react with specific substances generated during the degradation process of aquatic product freshness, converting the chemical reaction results into signals that are easily observable and interpretable by consumers, such as color changes, electrical signals, or fluorescence signals. This review summarized the common sensitive materials used in aquatic product freshness indicators and their application progress. It particularly explored various preparation methods for these indicators, along with their advantages and limitations, including solution casting, spin coating, impregnation-drying, electrospinning, 2D printing, and 3D printing technologies. Additionally, strategies to enhance the performance of freshness indicators were discussed from multiple perspectives. The use of functional additives, encapsulation techniques, and chemical modifications could improve the stability of the indicators, while methods like dye blending, metal ion complexation, and colorimetric arrays had proven effective in enhancing their sensitivity. Finally, the article outlined the opportunities and challenges for future research in food freshness, aiming to provide insights for the development of intelligent food packaging freshness indicators.

aquatic product; freshness; indicator; preparation method