Microbial Control of Raw and Cold-Smoked Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) through a Microwave Plasma Treatment.

The control of the pathogenic load on foodstuffs is a key element in food safety. Particularly, seafood such as cold-smoked salmon is threatened by pathogens such as Salmonella sp. or Listeria monocytogenes. Despite strict existing hygiene procedures, the production industry constantly demands novel, reliable methods for microbial decontamination. Against that background, a microwave plasma-based decontamination technique via plasma-processed air (PPA) is presented. Thereby, the samples undergo two treatment steps, a pre-treatment step where PPA is produced when compressed air flows over a plasma torch, and a post-treatment step where the PPA acts on the samples. This publication embraces experiments that compare the total viable count (tvc) of bacteria found on PPA-treated raw (rs) and cold-smoked salmon (css) samples and their references. The tvc over the storage time is evaluated using a logistic growth model that reveals a PPA sensitivity for raw salmon (rs). A shelf-life prolongation of two days is determined. When cold-smoked salmon (css) is PPA-treated, the treatment reveals no further impact. When PPA-treated raw salmon (rs) is compared with PPA-untreated cold-smoked salmon (css), the PPA treatment appears as reliable as the cold-smoking process and retards the growth of cultivable bacteria in the same manner. The experiments are flanked by quality measurements such as color and texture measurements before and after the PPA treatment. Salmon samples, which undergo an overtreatment, solely show light changes such as a whitish surface flocculation. A relatively mild treatment as applied in the storage experiments has no further detected impact on the fish matrix.

The Effect of Plasma Treated Water Unit Processes on the Food Quality Characteristics of Fresh-Cut Endive.

This study evaluated the impact of a defined plasma treated water (PTW) when applied to various stages within fresh-cut endive processing. The quality characteristic responses were investigated to establish the impact of the PTW unit processes and where PTW may be optimally applied in a model process line to retain or improve produce quality. Different stages of application of PTW within the washing process were investigated and compared to tap water and chlorine dioxide. Fresh-cut endive (Cichorium endivia L.) samples were analyzed for retention of food quality characteristics. Measurements included color, texture, and nitrate quantification. Effects on tissue surface and cell organelles were observed through scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. Overall, the endive quality characteristics were retained by incorporating PTW in the washing process. Furthermore, promising results for color and texture characteristics were observed, which were supported by the microscopic assays of the vegetal tissue. While ion chromatography detected high concentrations of nitrite and nitrate in PTW, these did not affect the nitrate concentration of the lettuce tissue post-processing and were below the concentrations within EU regulations. These results provide a pathway to scale up the industrial application of PTW to improve and retain quality characteristic retention of fresh leafy products, whilst also harnessing the plasma functionalized water as a process intervention for reducing microbial load at multiple points, whether on the food surface, within the process water or on food-processing surfaces.

Plasma-Treated Air and Water-Assessment of Synergistic Antimicrobial Effects for Sanitation of Food Processing Surfaces and Environment.

The synergistic antimicrobial effects of plasma-processed air (PPA) and plasma-treated water (PTW), which are indirectly generated by a microwave-induced non-atmospheric pressure plasma, were investigated with the aid of proliferation assays. For this purpose, microorganisms (Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Pectobacterium carotovorum, sporulated Bacillus atrophaeus) were cultivated as monocultures on specimens with polymeric surface structures. Both the distinct and synergistic antimicrobial potential of PPA and PTW were governed by the plasma-on time (5⁻50 s) and the treatment time of the specimens with PPA/PTW (1⁻5 min). In single PTW treatment of the bacteria, an elevation of the reduction factor with increasing treatment time could be observed (e.g., reduction factor of 2.4 to 3.0 for P. carotovorum). In comparison, the combination of PTW and subsequent PPA treatment leads to synergistic effects that are clearly not induced by longer treatment times. These findings have been valid for all bacteria (L. monocytogenes > P. carotovorum = E. coli). Controversially, the effect is reversed for endospores of B. atrophaeus. With pure PPA treatment, a strong inactivation at 50 s plasma-on time is detectable, whereas single PTW treatment shows no effect even with increasing treatment parameters. The use of synergistic effects of PTW for cleaning and PPA for drying shows a clear alternative for currently used sanitation methods in production plants. Highlights: Non-thermal atmospheric pressure microwave plasma source used indirect in two different modes-gaseous and liquid; Measurement of short and long-living nitrite and nitrate in corrosive gas PPA (plasma-processed air) and complex liquid PTW (plasma-treated water); Application of PTW and PPA in single and combined use for biological decontamination of different microorganisms.