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We studied microbiological and sensory effects of treating pig tissue for 15 s with 55 and 10°C sprays of acetic acid (AA; 0.15 to 0.3 M) and lactic acid (LA; 0.1 to 0.2 M) solutions prior to the tissue being subjected to steam condensation (18 s at 65°C or 10 s at 75°C). LA or AA spraying and then steam treatment resulted in 3- to 4-log average reductions of Pseudomonas fragi and Yersinia enterocolitica inocula (6 to 7 log CFU/cm(2)), regardless of acid temperature or concentration. Buffered LA or 1:1 mixtures of AA:LA and then steam treatment yielded similar reductions. Most of the acid-steam-treated samples had microbial counts below the limit of detection (2 log CFU/cm(2)); thus, the results likely underestimate the potential of this procedure. When the period between inoculation and acid-steam treatment was extended from 0.5 to 24 h, up to a 1-log-higher microbial reduction was observed, due to a 1- to 2-log-greater initial contamination. Increasing the LA contact time to 6 min increased the microbial reduction by 0.8 log. Acid-steam treatment effected lower L* values (darker color) on pigskin, but higher L* values on muscle and fat tissue (paler color). Many muscle samples exhibited lower a* values and off-color brown hues. Off-odors were observed immediately after treatment, but with the exception of fat tissue and AA-treated samples, they largely disappeared during further storage. Off-flavors were only detected in AA-treated muscle samples.

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Assuring the safety of muscle foods and seafood is based on prerequisites and specific measures targeted against defined hazards. This concept is augmented by ‘interventions’, which are chemical or physical treatments, not genuinely part of the production process, but rather implemented in the framework of a safety assurance system. The present paper focuses on ‘Cold Atmospheric pressure Plasma’ (CAP) as an emerging non-thermal intervention for microbial decontamination. Over the past decade, a vast number of studies have explored the antimicrobial potential of different CAP systems against a plethora of different foodborne microorganisms. This contribution aims at providing a comprehensive reference and appraisal of the latest literature in the area, with a specific focus on the use of CAP for the treatment of fresh meat, fish and associated products to inactivate microbial pathogens and extend shelf life. Aspects such as changes to organoleptic and nutritional value alongside other matrix effects are considered, so as to provide the reader with a clear insight into the advantages and disadvantages of CAP-based decontamination strategies.

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