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Application of Cold Plasma in Fruits and Vegetables

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Applications of Cold Plasma in Food Safety

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Abstract

Consumers’ demands for fresh fruits and vegetables have been increased over the last decades due to the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. However, fresh produces are susceptible to microbial contamination, consequently shortening the shelf-life, which poses a challenge to the food industry. Cold plasma with abundant reactive species is considered as a promising decontamination technology against microorganisms. In this chapter, various factors (e.g., processing parameters, microbial characteristics, food properties) affecting the microbial inactivation efficacy of cold plasma were systematically summarized. Additionally, the effects of cold plasma on the quality attributes of fresh produce were provided in detail. The application of cold plasma for the inhibition of endogenous enzymatic activities in fruits and vegetables was also introduced. Furthermore, the existing challenges for the application of cold plasma on the fresh produce preservation were also discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Laboratory of Food Quality and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China

    Yunjin Sun & Cong Wang

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Product Detection and Control for Spoilage Organisms and Pesticides, College of Food Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China

    Yunjin Sun & Cong Wang

  3. Plasma Engineering Center, Capital Agricultural Product Safety Industrial Technology Institute, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China

    Yunjin Sun

Authors
  1. Yunjin Sun
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  2. Cong Wang
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Tian Ding

  2. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    P.J. Cullen

  3. College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Wenjing Yan

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Sun, Y., Wang, C. (2022). Application of Cold Plasma in Fruits and Vegetables. In: Ding, T., Cullen, P., Yan, W. (eds) Applications of Cold Plasma in Food Safety. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1827-7_7

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