Cold plasma for microbial safety: Principle, mechanism, and factors responsible

Abstract

Elimination of microbiological contamination of food products is predominant for consumer food safety. Cold plasma (CP) technology has evolved as a unique, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solution to microbial decontamination that is gaining popularity due to its great efficacy in ensuring food safety. As increasing the demand of food industries to produce and supply the safe food with minimal processing. Cold plasma application is being used to sanitize the food surface to be used for different food industry sectors for microbial inactivation. The rapid microbial inactivation obtained by cold plasma has sparked a surge in interest in the field. The current review will give a critical snapshot of the potential application of cold plasma in microbial safety, including food safety, quality, and enzyme inactivation. The rapid microbiological inactivation achieved with cold plasma has led to an interest in this subject. Further, factors affecting, that is, food composition, PH, water activity, and microorganism type for microbial inactivation by cold plasma, are summarized and discussed. There is an increasing demand for food industries to produce and supply safe food with minimal processing. Cold plasma has the potential to sanitize the food surface to be used in different food industry sectors for microbial inactivation. Novelty impact statement This review discussed the principle, equipment, and process mechanism of cold plasma. The mechanism of microbial inactivation by cold plasma was summarized. Also, the effect of cold plasma on factors including food composition, pH, water activity, microorganism type, and enzyme inactivation was explored.