Comprehensive investigation into quality of pasteurized Oncorhynchus keta Walbaum fillets and non-thermal effects of microwave

Microwave processing is a novel technology in shortening food processing time and improving product quality. These advantages are achieved through the thermal and possible non-thermal effects of microwave. The main objective of the study was to explore the non-thermal effects of microwave electromagnetic (EM) fields on quality traits of pasteurized Oncorhynchus keta Walbaum fillets. A single-mode microwave processing system processed the fillets with a pasteurization thermal lethality value of F90 = 10 min. Corresponding pasteurization process with synchronous heating was designed to match the time-temperature profile of microwave processing. Retort pasteurization was used as a conventional process to compare the fillet quality performance with microwave pasteurization. With the pasteurization thermal treatment level, the proportion of six free amino acids was significantly different (P