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Cold plasma is a novel non-thermal technology that could be used for large scale leaf decontamination in food manufacturing as alternative to chlorine washing. The effect of atmospheric cold plasma apparatus on the safety, quality and antioxidant activity of radicchio (red chicory, Cichorium intybus L.) was investigated after treatment and during storage. Cold plasma treatment caused significant changes to the external appearance of the radicchio leaves during storage as assessed by a sensory and image analysis. Chroma values of radicchio leaves were also affected by the cold plasma treatments. The antioxidant activity of radicchio leaves, assessed by the ABTS and ORAC assays, was not affected by cold plasma treatments (15 and 30 min). E. coli inoculated on radicchio leaves was significantly reduced after 15 min cold plasma treatment. However, a 30 min plasma treatment was necessary to achieve a significant reduction of L. monocytogenes counts. Atmospheric cold plasma appears to be a promising technology for the decontamination of leafy vegetables when applied under the optimised conditions.

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The atmospheric double barrier discharge (DBD) plasma technology is a promising tool in food industry as an alternative to traditional food preservation methods. However, the effect of the reactive chemical species generated during the treatment on the qualitative and quantitative content of bioactive compounds in food is still little studied, as well as there are no data concerning potential deleterious effects of DBD treated foods on human cells. We measured antioxidants content and antioxidant capacity of DBD-treated minimally processed Pink Lady® apples in comparison with untreated matched samples. Moreover, we compared the effects of polyphenols extracts obtained from DBD-treated apples on cell viability, reactive oxygen species production and phase II enzyme activation. The results show that the plasma treatment causes a slight reduction of antioxidant content and antioxidant capacity. Noteworthy, apple treated polyphenols extracts do not reduce cell viability and do not suppress the beneficial physiological cell response to oxidative stress.

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