Microbial decontamination of red pepper powder using pulsed light plasma

Microbial Decontamination of Rice Germ Using a Large-Scale Plasma Jet-Pulsed Light-Ultraviolet-C Integrated Treatment System

“…In a previous study by Lee et al (2020), a lab-scale pulsed light plasma treatment (plasma treatment voltage: 10 kV, IPL treatment voltage: 2 kV, IPL treatment frequency: 3.8 Hz, treatment time: 6.3 min) led to the inactivation of indigenous mesophilic aerobic bacteria in red pepper powder by 2.8 ± 0.1 log CFU/g. A study by Bang et al (2020) demonstrated that applying a treatment that combines plasma and UV (plasma treatment voltage: 10.3 kV, UV intensity: 6160 W/m 2 , treatment time: 22.1 min) led to the inactivation of indigenous bacteria in black peppercorns by 3.4 log CFU/g.…”

“…Furthermore, the shadow effects of IPL and UV may reduce the decontamination efficiency, posing a limitation to the application in opaque foods (Elmnasser et al 2007;Oms-Oliu et al 2010). In addition, a recent study has reported that none of the APPJ, IPL, or UV treatment alone was effective in inactivating indigenous bacteria, compared to their efficacy against the inoculated vegetative bacteria in particulate products (Lee et al 2020). Therefore, the development of an effective microbial decontamination method for particulate foods would be feasible by combining existing treatments based on the hurdle concept, whereby the application of a low dose of each treatment could ensure a high microbial decontamination effect with minimized alteration of the original food quality (Gómez et al 2011).…”

Cold atmospheric‐pressure plasma treatment of turmeric powder: microbial load, essential oil profile, bioactivity and microstructure analyses

“…It was argued that the high amount of O 2 and CO 2 in the head space of the package led to the generation of highly active cold plasma species that could drastically damage the microorganism cell walls (Wang et al, 2016). In fact, plasma-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), including singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide and oxygen radical, attack the chemical bonds of microorganisms cell membranes with consequent leakage of microbial chromosome and thus cell death (Lee et al, 2020).…”

“…However, toxicity of ethylene oxide, as well as its deteriorative impact on aroma and colour of spices, has limited the application of the method in food industry (Hertwig et al, 2015). Another common decontamination method of spices is the steam treatment which is associated with degradation of heat-labile bioactive components of the products (Lee et al, 2020). Therefore, safe alternative decontamination methods with no adverse impacts on sensory and nutritional properties of food products are increasingly sought by food technologists.…”

“…Cold plasma is an emerging non-thermal sterilisation technique that holds much promise for the decontamination of a wide variety of foodstuffs. The method is based on the generation of ionised gases (plasma) containing highly reactive species such as electrons, positive ions, negative ions, free radicals, excited or nonexcited atoms and photons at ambient temperature (Mandal et al, 2018) that damage cell membrane of microorganisms through disrupting their chemical bonds leading to leakage of cellular content and ultimately cell death (Lee et al, 2020). The efficacy of cold plasma technology in inactivation of both pathogenic and spoilage bacteria in a broad range of food products including meats, poultry, fruits and vegetables with minimal impacts on nutritional and sensory attributes is well documented (Mandal et al, 2018).…”