Patent Landscape Analysis of Bivalve Mollusc Decontamination Technologies: A Review

Bivalve molluscs represent an important food source and have a significant economic impact through their commercialization in many countries. As high-capacity filter feeders, they can bioaccumulate contaminants and pathogens, creating tangible consumer health risks. This study presents the first comprehensive patent landscape of bivalve mollusc decontamination technologies indexed in international patent databases (Espacenet). The survey identified 30 patents filed between 1989 and 2025. Unlike reviews based solely on scientific literature, this work provides, for the first time, a global mapping of technological developments aimed at enhancing the safety of bivalves-derived foods. The analysis highlights depuration as the predominant technology, which continues to be refined and optimized. It also reveals the emergence of disruptive approaches—such as photodynamic sterilization, the use of probiotics, immunopotentiators, natural antimicrobial compounds, and genetic hybridization—developed to preserve the viability and sensory quality of the organisms. The novelty of this study lies in providing a technological overview of innovation within the aquaculture sector, emphasizing the transition from conventional methods to cleaner, integrated, and sustainable technologies. Furthermore, the research identifies the advancement of hybrid decontamination systems that combine microbiological efficiency, environmental preservation, and commercial value, contributing to safer and more technologically advanced shellfish production.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Aquaculture Journal

• Publication date

  2025-11-04

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3390/aquacj5040022
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Exploring the role and mechanism of potential probiotics in mitigating the shrimp pathogens

  2024cited by this paper
• Beneficial microorganisms for the health-promoting in oyster aquaculture: realistic alternatives

  2024cited by this paper
• Application of Bivalve Molluscs in the Biological Purification of Polluted Natural Waters

  2023cited by this paper
• Modelling norovirus dynamics within oysters emphasises potential food safety issues associated with current testing & depuration protocols.

  2023cited by this paper
• Antimicrobial Effects of Plasma-Activated Simulated Seawater (PASW) on Total Coliform and Escherichia coli in Live Oysters during Static Depuration

  2023cited by this paper
• Barriers and drivers to increasing sustainable bivalve seafood consumption in a mass market economy

  2023cited by this paper
• The impact of microplastics on bivalve mollusks: A bibliometric and scientific review.

  2023cited by this paper
• Microbial diversity of bivalve shellfish and the use of innovative technologies for preservation, monitoring and shelf-life extension

  2023cited by this paper
• Antiviral Efficacy of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma against Hepatitis A Virus in Fresh Oyster Using PMA/RT-qPCR

  2023cited by this paper
• Molluscs—A ticking microbial bomb

  2023cited by this paper
• Identification of Potential Proteinaceous Ligands of GI.1 Norovirus in Pacific Oyster Tissues

  2023cited by this paper
• Investigating comprehensive effects of depuration salinity and duration on posterior anhydrous living-preservation of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas).

  2023cited by this paper
• Photoinactivation of bacteriophage MS2, Tulane virus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in oysters by microencapsulated rose bengal

  2022cited by this paper
• Aquaculture Science and Engineering

  2022cited by this paper
• Depuration of live oysters to reduce Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus: A review of ecology and processing parameters.

  2022cited by this paper
• Photodynamic inactivation in food systems: A review of its application, mechanisms, and future perspective

  2022cited by this paper
• Phytocompounds as an Alternative Antimicrobial Approach in Aquaculture

  2022cited by this paper
• Depuration of bivalve molluscs: a literature review

  2022cited by this paper
• Hybridization between “Haida No. 1” and Orange-shell line of the Pacific oyster reveals high heterosis in survival

  2022cited by this paper
• Hybridization improved stress resistance in the Pacific oyster: Evidence from physiological and immune responses

  2021cited by this paper
• An Overview of Antibiotics as Emerging Contaminants: Occurrence in Bivalves as Biomonitoring Organisms

  2021cited by this paper
• The application of photodynamic inactivation to microorganisms in food

  2021cited by this paper
• Evaluation of static and flow-through depuration system on depuration of naturally contaminated farmed edible oyster Crassostrea madrasensis (Preston, 1916)

  2021cited by this paper
• Effects of the curcumin-mediated photodynamic inactivation on the quality of cooked oysters with Vibrio parahaemolyticus during storage at different temperature.

  2021cited by this paper
• Complementary Methods to Improve the Depuration of Bivalves: A Review

  2020cited by this paper
• Strategies to reduce norovirus (NoV) contamination from oysters under depuration conditions.

  2020cited by this paper
• Managing the risk of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections associated with oyster consumption: A review.

  2020cited by this paper
• From Farm to Fingers: an Exploration of Probiotics for Oysters, from Production to Human Consumption

  2020cited by this paper
• Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh-The role of bivalve molluscs as transmission vehicles for human norovirus infections.

  2020cited by this paper
• A review on high hydrostatic pressure for bivalve mollusk processing: relevant aspects concerning safety and quality

  2019cited by this paper
• Curcumin-mediated photodynamic inactivation (PDI) against DH5α contaminated in oysters and cellular toxicological evaluation of PDI-treated oysters.

  2019cited by this paper
• PACAP Is Lethal to Flavobacterium psychrophilum Through Either Direct Membrane Permeabilization or Indirectly, by Priming the Immune Response in Rainbow Trout Macrophages

  2019cited by this paper
• Associations of Environmental Conditions and Vibrio parahaemolyticus Genetic Markers in Washington State Pacific Oysters

  2019cited by this paper
• Direct application of ozone in aquaculture systems

  2018cited by this paper
• Occurrence of antibiotics in mussels and clams from various FAO areas.

  2018cited by this paper
• EU Regulatory Risk Management of Marine Biotoxins in the Marine Bivalve Mollusc Food-Chain

  2018cited by this paper
• Vibrio spp. infections

  2018cited by this paper
• Food safety impacts of antimicrobial use and their residues in aquaculture

  2018cited by this paper
• Nutritional Value and Food Safety of Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish

  2018cited by this paper
• Thermal processing of live bivalve molluscs for controlling viruses: On the need for a risk-based design

  2018cited by this paper
• state of world fisheries and aquaculture

  2017influential reference
• Long-lasting antiviral innate immune priming in the Lophotrochozoan Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas

  2017cited by this paper
• Food processing by high hydrostatic pressure

  2017cited by this paper
• Application of phage therapy during bivalve depuration improves Escherichia coli decontamination.

  2017cited by this paper
• Evaluation of a Small Scale UV-treated Recirculating Depuration System for Oysters (Crassostrea iredalei)

  2017cited by this paper
• Efficacy of Probiotics in Preventing Vibriosis in the Larviculture of Different Species of Bivalve Shellfish

  2016cited by this paper
• Immune responses to infectious diseases in bivalves.

  2015cited by this paper
• Seaweed extracts as antimicrobial agents in aquaculture

  2015cited by this paper
• Virucidal efficacy of treatment with photodynamically activated curcumin on murine norovirus bio-accumulated in oysters.

  2015cited by this paper
• A literature review on the state-of-the-art in patent analysis

  2014cited by this paper
• University patenting: a comparison of 300 leading universities worldwide

  2014cited by this paper
• Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic

  2014cited by this paper
• Vanishing Clams on an Iberian Beach: Local Consequences and Global Implications of Accelerating Loss of Shells to Tourism

  2014cited by this paper
• Effective reduction of Vibrio vulnificus in the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) using high salinity depuration.

  2013cited by this paper
• The Interactions of Vibrio vulnificus and the Oyster Crassostrea virginica

  2013cited by this paper
• Bivalve mollusks in metal pollution studies: from bioaccumulation to biomonitoring.

  2013cited by this paper
• Depuration of Oysters (Crassostrea gigas) contaminated with Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus with UV light and chlorinated seawater.

  2012cited by this paper
• Natural antimicrobial compounds for use in aquaculture

  2012cited by this paper
• Infectious disease in aquaculture

  2012cited by this paper
• The depuration dynamics of oysters (Crassostrea gigas) artificially contaminated with hepatitis A virus and human adenovirus.

  2012cited by this paper
• Distribution in Tissue and Seasonal Variation of Norovirus Genogroup I and II Ligands in Oysters

  2010cited by this paper
• Evaluation of a flow-through depuration system to eliminate the human pathogen Vibrio vulnificus from oysters.

  2010cited by this paper
• Review of probiotics for use in bivalve hatcheries.

  2010cited by this paper
• Identifying major pesticides affecting bivalve species exposed to agricultural pollution using multi-biomarker and multivariate methods

  2010cited by this paper
• Infectious Diseases of Freshwater Mussels and Other Freshwater Bivalve Mollusks

  2009cited by this paper
• Study of the efficacy of a closed cycle depuration system on bivalve molluscs.

  2009cited by this paper
• Norwalk Virus–specific Binding to Oyster Digestive Tissues

  2006cited by this paper
• High pressure processing of shellfish: A review of microbiological and other quality aspects

  2005cited by this paper
• Method for reducing contamination of shellfish

  1997cited by this paper
• Microbial Purification of Shellfish: A Review of Depuration and Relaying.

  1988cited by this paper
• Depuration and heat treatment to reduce pathogen levels in bivalve molluscs produced in Santa Catarina State, Brazil

  year unknowncited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.