Magnetic field-assisted freezing and freeze-thaw control in meat: protein conformational responses, mechanistic evidence, and quality implications.

Magnetic field (MF)-assisted freezing and freeze-thaw control have attracted interest as a non-thermal approach for limiting quality deterioration in meat. This review addresses a gap left by technology-centered overviews by evaluating the literature through a protein-centered, evidence-weighted water-ice-protein framework. We distinguish MF-only static exposures, time-varying electromagnetic exposures, MF-electric-field coupled treatments, and MF-chemical modification systems, because effects in combined systems cannot be attributed to the magnetic field alone without appropriate single-factor controls. In intact meat, the most consistent evidence supports an indirect pathway in which magnetic exposure may first alter supercooling, ice behavior, and water redistribution, followed by changes in tissue damage, protein oxidation, conformation, aggregation, and functionality. Evidence for direct MF-protein interactions is substantially weaker and comes mainly from simplified or chemically modified protein systems. Nominal magnetic flux density is not directly transferable across studies because actual exposure also depends on field mode, frequency, waveform, geometry, sample size, and thermal history. Water-holding capacity, texture, color stability, and gelation are therefore treated as downstream quality outcomes rather than as proof of direct MF-protein causality. Overall, MF-assisted low-temperature processing remains a promising but conditional strategy that requires stronger causal validation and pilot-scale evidence.