Abstract: Freezing treatment has been widely used to extend the shelf life of aquatic products, however, the quality of frozen aquatic products can inevitably deteriorate due to ice recrystallization. Ice recrystallization can affect the size and distribution of ice crystals, exacerbating water loss, protein and lipid oxidation, color change and texture deterioration. This article summarizes the three mechanisms of ice recrystallization: accretion, migration, and surface isomass, discusses the effects and underlying mechanisms of ice recrystallization on the quality of frozen aquatic products, and analyzes the measures to inhibit ice recrystallization including addition of carbohydrates, antifreeze proteins, antifreeze peptides or polymers with ice recrystallization-inhibitory activity as well as the underlying mechanisms. Future prospects for the application of these measures in frozen aquatic products are discussed as well. We expect that this review will provide a theoretical basis for optimizing the quality of frozen aquatic products.

Key words: aquatic products; ice crystal; recrystallization; quality; cryoprotectant