Effects of Cold Plasma on Food Quality: A Review

Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 2020

Cold plasma technology (CPT) is considered as one of the emerging alternative techniques for preserving food commodities, extending shelf-life and retaining bioactive compounds in foods. Due to non-thermal nature, CPT is a useful technology for the sterilization process, especially for Accepted Article This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved heat-sensitive foods. However, CPT in food is still an emerging process in terms of safety evaluation. Release of secondary products such as ozone, UV and reactive oxygen species during plasma generation limits its competencies and usage in food industry. Therefore, this review focuses on the application of various types of cold plasma on plant and animal produces. The current state of the CPT application and its effect on food matrices, bioactive compounds, packaging materials, and specific nutrients of food, along with advantages, limitations and future recommendations of this technique in food sector are discussed.

2019

Cold plasma technology is an emerging food processing treatment which devises wide range of applications especially in various food processing sectors. Cold plasma is known to have greater effects towards the microbial decontamination of various food products to ensure the food safety and shelf life to consumers. Cold plasma uses several reactive gaseous species which are likely less ionised for the inactivation of microbe’s present in meats, poultry, fruits, and vegetables. This review paper will cover the concepts and underlying principles, applications in food, critical parameters, advantages and limitations when this technique is employed. Though, cold plasma technology holds inordinate ability towards decontamination of foods, the chemistry of reactive gaseous species with foods during cold plasma treatment, effects of CPT (Cold Plasma Technology) on environment and its economic impact has to be studied evidently through further research to gain its importance among consumer.

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.

Food Engineering Reviews

Changing consumers’ taste for chemical and thermally processed food and preference for perceived healthier minimally processed alternatives is a challenge to food industry. At present, several technologies have found usefulness as choice methods for ensuring that processed food remains unaltered while guaranteeing maximum safety and protection of consumers. However, the effectiveness of most green technology is limited due to the formation of resistant spores by certain foodborne microorganisms and the production of toxins. Cold plasma, a recent technology, has shown commendable superiority at both spore inactivation and enzymes and toxin deactivation. However, the exact mechanism behind the efficiency of cold plasma has remained unclear. In order to further optimize and apply cold plasma treatment in food processing, it is crucial to understand these mechanisms and possible factors that might limit or enhance their effectiveness and outcomes. As a novel non-thermal technology, cold...

Foods

Cold plasma (CP) is generated when an electrical energy source is applied to a gas, resulting in the production of several reactive species such as ultraviolet photons, charged particles, radicals and other reactive nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen species. CP is a novel, non-thermal technology that has shown great potential for food decontamination and has also generated a lot of interest recently for a wide variety of food processing applications. This review discusses the potential use of CP in mainstream food applications to ensure food safety. The review focuses on the design elements of cold plasma technology, mode of action of CP, and types of CP technologies applicable to food applications. The applications of CP by the food industry have been demonstrated for food decontamination, pesticide residue removal, enzyme inactivation, toxin removal, and food packaging modifications. Particularly for food processing, CP is effective against major foodborne pathogenic micro-organisms ...

Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2017

Background: Cold plasma (CP) is an emerging technology, which has attracted the attention of scientists globally. It was originally developed for ameliorating the printing and adhesion properties of polymers plus a variety of usage domains in electronics. In the last decade, its applications were extended into the food industry as a powerful tool for non-thermal processing, with diverse forms for utilization. Scope and Approach: This review presents an overview of recent studies on the application of cold plasma in the food industry. Specific areas discussed include microbial decontamination of food products, packaging material processing, functionality modification of food materials and dissipation of agrochemical residues. The application of CP has also been expanded into areas, such as hydrogenation of edible oils, mitigation of food allergy, inactivation of anti-nutritional factors, tailoring of seed germination performance and effluent management. In addition, the paper provides a summary of

Emerging Technologies for Food Processing, 2014

International Journal of Chemical Studies, 2018

In the past cold plasma technology has found wide applications in material processing and it finds widespread applications in food industries as a novel technology. Cold plasma was originally developed for usage in electronics along with improving various functional properties like printing and adhesion properties of polymers. When the ionized gas is released on the polymer, effects of ablation, cross linking and activation are produced on its surface, which results in enhancing surface energy and hence improvement of various functional properties like adhesiveness, prinitibility and wettability of polymers Furthermore, cold plasma has resulted into surface decontamination of the packaging materials and improved barrier properties of polymer. New trends aim to provide antimicrobial surface and thus set up active packaging. The present review provides an overview of principles of action of cold plasma technology, equipment and summarises recent advances in the modification of polymeric food packaging materials.

Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2019

Consumers' demand is increasing for safe foods without impairing the phytochemical and sensory quality. In turn, it has increased research interest in the exploration of innovative food processing technologies. Cold plasma technology is getting popularity now days owing to its high efficacy in decontamination of microbes in fruit and fruit-based products. As a onthermal approach, plasma processing maintains the quality of fruits and minimizes the thermal effects on nutritional properties. Cold plasma is also exploited for inactivating enzymes and degrading pesticides as both are directly related with quality loss and presently are most important concerns in fresh produce industry. The present review covers the influence of cold plasma technology on reducing microbial risks and enhancing the quality attributes in fruits.

Trends in biotechnology, 2018

Cold plasma science and technology is increasingly investigated for translation to a plethora of issues in the agriculture and food sectors. The diversity of the mechanisms of action of cold plasma, and the flexibility as a standalone technology or one that can integrate with other technologies, provide a rich resource for driving innovative solutions. The emerging understanding of the longer-term role of cold plasma reactive species and follow-on effects across a range of systems will suggest how cold plasma may be optimally applied to biological systems in the agricultural and food sectors. Here we present the current status, emerging issues, regulatory context, and opportunities of cold plasma with respect to the broad stages of primary and secondary food production.