Emerging Technologies for Food Safety: High Pressure Processing (HPP) and Cold Plasma Technology (CPT) for Decontamination of Foods

Abstract

Foods may become contaminated from a variety of sources, therefore it is imperative to understand and discover easy, cheap and effective means of decontaminating foods. Heat, although effective, economical and easily available, has been reported to produce undesirable effects on food such as loss of taste and nutrition. High Pressure Processing can inactivate the cells of the food borne pathogens and organisms responsible for food spoilage regardless of the temperature without making changes to the texture, color or flavor. Equipment involved in HPP includes a pressure vessel, pumps generating high hydrostatic pressure or intensifiers. Its success depends on certain factors such as pressure of water, temperature used during the treatment, and the properties and state of the food and categories of microorganisms found in food.Cold Plasma Technology (CPT) is a novel, non-thermal food processing technology that uses energetic and reactive gases to inactivate contaminating microorganisms in food products. CPT is environmentally friendly that uses natural gases such as nitrogen, argon, air, hydrogen, and oxygen. Depending on the plasma type, it can inactivate a wide range of microorganisms including food borne pathogens and spoilage organisms. This technology hasa low running cost (Cost of natural gases and electricity).Both HPP and CPT can spread and work on the entire food sample, regardless of shape and size. These methods serve as an alternative to some methods which were previously used.
 Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 36 Number 1 June 2019, pp 35-43

Recent advances with cold plasma technology for millet processing: A brief review

“…They also have the added advantage of not altering the foods' flavor, look, or texture. Regardless of size or shape, HPP and CP can spread throughout the entire food sample (Feroz et al, 2019). et al, 2018).…”

Inactivating Food Microbes by High-Pressure Processing and Combined Nonthermal and Thermal Treatment: A Review

“…Y&M spores are readily inactivated at 400 MPa except for certain ascospores of heat-resistant mold such as Byssochlamys nivea, Neosartorya fischeri, and Talaromyces macrosporus. [56]. In general, these ascospores are often associated with spoilage of pasteurized fruit products also, such as juice, jams, purees, and candied fruits.…”

Inactivation of Foodborne Viruses by High-Pressure Processing (HPP)

“…The majority of studies on the effect of HPP treatment on microorganisms in foods were conducted for bacteria, and fewer studies were established for foodborne viruses [12,43]. However, studies on the effect of HPP treatment on foodborne viruses in foods have increased in recent years [13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…The HPP method applies instantaneous hydrostatic pressure uniformly to the food products. The initial studies of HPP in foods were focused on inactivating foodborne vegetative bacteria, fungi, and protozoa [12]. However, in recent years, HPP technology has also been examined concerning the elimination of viruses in foods [13][14][15][16][17][18].…”