Effects of cold plasma on food poisoning microbes and food contaminants including toxins and allergens: A review

Abstract

Cold plasma (CP) has emerged as a powerful intervention in the non‐thermal processing of food. It a green technology with a minimum negative impact on food and the environment. Though many conventional biological, chemical and thermal techniques have not given satisfactory results, CP has shown an exceptional promise in the elimination of several kinds of food contaminants including food poisoning microbes such as bacteria, fungi, and parasites, heavy metals, toxins, and allergens. CP plays an important role in the inactivation and inhibition of food poisoning microbes. It could be a befitting alternative to traditional models because of its promising results in diverse groups of food products. This review is a collation of recent studies focused on the effect of CP on various types of microbes, toxins and allergens. The review also emphasises the effect of CP on other food contaminants including the toxicity of pesticides and heavy metals. Practical applications The CP technology being a green non‐thermal process, offers numerous potential applications in food industries. With rapid advancements in plasma science, the CP technology is being widely used for surface decontamination of food products as well as food packaging materials. Several review articles are available on cold plasma processing of food products. However, none of the literature available provides a comprehensive review of effects of cold plasma on food poisoning microbes and food contaminants. The present article reviews the updated and more advanced mechanisms and new concepts about the microbial inactivation during the CP treatment. By examining the safety of gases used in CP technology, this review will help both consumers and food processors to understand the safety of the treatment and its wide‐scale commercial application in food processing.

Cold plasma application to fresh green leafy vegetables: Impact on microbiology and product quality

“…Light, the presence of free radicals in the environment, interaction with heavy metals, and high or low‐temperature cause vitamin loss (Martemucci et al, 2022). In a CP‐treated FGLV, the amount of ascorbic acid may decrease as a result of the reaction of released ozone and other oxidizing plasma species (Kumar et al., 2022). In addition, the pre‐treatments applied to the sample (cutting, shredding, etc.…”