Abstract
Microbiological safety of ready-to-eat foods is paramount for consumer acceptability. The effects of in-package atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (ADCP) treatment on the microbiological safety and quality of model chicken salad (CS) were investigated in this study. CS, packaged in a commercial polyethylene terephthalate container, was treated with ADCP at 24 kV for 2 min. The inactivation of indigenous mesophilic bacteria, Salmonella, and Tulane virus in CS; growth of indigenous mesophilic bacteria and Salmonella in CS; and quality of CS during storage at 4 °C were then investigated. ADCP inactivated indigenous mesophilic bacteria, Salmonella, and Tulane virus by 1.2 ± 0.3 log CFU/g, 1.0–1.5 ± 0.2 log CFU/g, and 1.0 ± 0.1 log PFU/g, respectively. Furthermore, it effectively retarded the growth of the microorganisms, while not significantly affecting the color of chicken, romaine lettuce, and carrot, and the antioxidant capacity of all vegetables throughout storage at the tested temperatures (p > 0.05). The color, smell, and appearance of all vegetables evaluated on day 0 were not significantly different in the sensory test, regardless of the treatment (p > 0.05). Collectively, ADCP treatment effectively decontaminates packaged CS without altering its quality-related properties.
Highlights
Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, consumed without any further processing or preparations, are popular due to their availability, affordability, and palatability [1]
Insignificant differences in the extent of Salmonella inactivation upon treatment time exceeding 2 min indicate that approximately 1 log CFU/g reduction is the highest reduction that can be achieved with the atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (ADCP) treatment, and the antimicrobial substances generated by ADCP, which were effective against Salmonella in chicken salad (CS), were maximally generated inside the packaged CS after a 2-min treatment
The ADCP treatment conditions for CS packaged in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) container were determined as 24 kV and 2 min; under these conditions, the ADCP treatment inactivated Salmonella on CS, reducing the counts by 1.0–1.5 ± 0.2 log CFU/g, and Tulane virus (TV), reducing the counts by 1.0 ± 0.1 log PFU/g
Summary
Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, consumed without any further processing or preparations, are popular due to their availability, affordability, and palatability [1]. Packaged fresh-cut salad is among the most frequently consumed food products because of its freshness and convenience [2]. Many RTE salad products are a mixture of fresh vegetables and processed foods, such as chicken breast or salmon. There is a possibility of cross-contamination during mixing and packaging, which is a cause of RTE-associated food poisoning [3]. Most mixed salad products are consumed without further cooking, and the ability of conventional microbial decontamination method, including washing with chlorine solution, to prevent food poisoning is limited. It is necessary to develop novel microbial inactivation approaches to enhance microbial safety of RTE salad products, while preserving the product quality attributes
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