Abstract Thermal processing is one of the most common
methods for achieving safe convenience fish products with
an extended shelf life. Designing a thermal process for such
products, typically in the range of 60–95 °C for 10 to
30 min, is challenging since the heat load required for
inactivating target microorganisms may cause undesirable
quality changes in the lipid and protein fraction. Concern
about the safety of some fish products exists, particularly
when considering the potential abuse caused by storage
temperature. New methods that focus on minimal heating or
rapid heating of fish products are therefore of vital
importance. The main aim for new developments is to
reduce the overall thermal load by reducing the temperature
gradients in the product or by targeting specific potentially
infected areas. In both cases, alternative technologies to
conventional autoclaves, combi-steamers or water baths are
used for enhanced heat transfer, thereby providing more
rapid heating and avoiding unnecessarily high heat loads on
part of the product. Dielectric heating, Shaka technology
and surface pasteurisation are technologies that meet these
approaches, and are now available for industrial applica-
tions. Minimal processing often relies on the use of
multiple sub-lethal stresses or processes to achieve a similar
level of microbial control such as that traditionally achieved
by using a single lethal stress. Most minimally processed