Seafood is a highly perishable product. Unlike some meats that are aged to enhance tenderness, seafood decomposition begins immediately post-mortem. Pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus are common to seafood and terrestrial muscle foods; however, others such as Clostridium botulinum Type E, Vibrio species and Aeromonas are more commonly associated with or exclusive to marine food products. Packaging of seafood products has historically been passive, or used to protect from oxygen, desiccation and microbial contamination. Tamper-evident packaging became the norm 30 years ago. Around the same time, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) appeared to be a panacea for shelf-life extension, but is tightly regulated in the United States because of the concern for temperature abuse and toxin production by Clostridium botulinum Type E. Time temperature indicators (TTIs) present the obvious solution to MAP but are seldom used due to cost. Nanotechnology is the newest wave in food processing, but its long-term effects on the human metabolism are unknown and there is inertia over defining its properties and its regulatory oversight. Momentum appears largely to be driven by large retailers that prefer case-ready seafood products in standard package sizes for rapid stocking with limited effort.