Cold Plasma: A novel Non-Thermal Technology for Food Processing

Abstract

In the past cold plasma is used for sterilization of sensitive materials and now it is extended to food industries as a novel technology. For years cold plasma processing has been viewed as useful for microbial inactivation while maintaining quality of fresh produce. However, this process is not effective for in vitro model food systems for inactivation of microbes or enzymes which are present in intact tissues, as it is a surface phenomenon. Cold plasma technology is also used to inactivate endogenous enzymes which are responsible for browning reactions particularly polyphenoloxidase and peroxidases. Several research investigations showed a reduced growth of microorganism via different mode of actions by etching phenomenon, cell disruption by electrophoration etc. Plasma technology is considered as modern non conventional technique which is used for the preparation of modified starches, altering its physical and chemical properties. Overall application of cold plasma for microbial destruction on different food substrates like fruits, meat products, cheese etc. was discussed. Besides this, it is also used to alter the germination rate of seeds. It is an eco-friendly process which is used in the preservation of food and other potential applications as an alternative to common techniques.

Evaluation of cold plasma treatments for improved microbial and physicochemical qualities of brown rice

“…showed that the cold plasma affected the hardness of parboiled rice and decreased according to plasma power and time of treatment. Thirumdas, Sarangapani, et al (2015) also reported a similar decrease in hardness. Plasma treatments can be used effectively to reduce the cooking time required for BR (Chen, 2014).…”

“…However, the plasma treatment may also result in changes in sensory property of food products which should be overcome Yong et al, 2015). Thirumdas, Sarangapani, and Annapure (2015) showed that there are several fields in the food-processing sector where cold plasma can be successfully applied to food products.…”

Pesticide degradation in water using atmospheric air cold plasma

“…This approach has demonstrated significant antimicrobial effects for biological applications [24][25][26]. Process efficacy of cold plasma for microbial inactivation, packaging modification, pesticide dissipation and wastewater treatment has been recently reviewed [19,[27][28][29][30]. As a novel treatment technology, plasma oxidation offers several advantages in the production of oxidising species such as radicals (e.g., H, O, OH • , etc.…”

Color change of orange and carrot juice blend treated by non‐thermal atmospheric plasma

“…Still, the full potential of non‐thermal atmospheric plasma remains untapped with numerous possible food applications. Non‐thermal atmospheric plasma has been used on several fresh fruit and vegetable produce, packaging materials and edible films with encouraging findings (Misra, Keener, Bourke, Mosnier, & Cullen, ; Pankaj et al, ; Pankaj, Bueno‐Ferrer, et al, ; Thirumdas, Sarangapani, & Annapure, ). Non‐thermal atmospheric plasma effect on orange (Almeida et al, ; Shi et al, ), pomegranate (Herceg et al, ; Kovačević, Kljusurić, et al, ; Kovačević, Putnik, et al, ), chokeberry (Kovačević, Kljusurić, et al, ; Kovačević, Putnik, et al, ) apple (Surowsky, Fröhling, Gottschalk, Schlüter, & Knorr, ) and white grape (Pankaj, Wan, Colonna, & Keener, ) juices have been studied previously.…”