Combined effect of plasma treatment and equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging on safety and quality of cherry tomatoes

Abstract

Combination of novel technologies for post-harvest processing can have advantages in terms of food safety and quality to reduce food waste. In this work the combination of cold plasma treatment and an equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging (EMAP) for cherry tomatoes was investigated under controlled temperature (10 and 20 °C) throughout storage. Results show that applying a plasma treatment to cherry tomatoes preserved the sensorial quality characteristics of the treated product. A reduction of microbial load on the product surface due to the plasma treatment was demonstrated. Package was important to prevent weight loss and changes in total soluble solid content over 14 days of storage. A higher microbiological growth was detected within the packed cherry tomatoes, while a plasma treatment before packing reduced microbiological growth during the early days of storage. The combination of a cold plasma treatment, storage temperature and EMAP design ensured the quality retention of cherry tomatoes, which suggests that they have potential to be used as hurdle technology. The right combination of different preservation technologies is able to reduce food waste and prolong the shelf life and quality of highly perishable vegetable goods.