Recent Advances and Potential Applications of Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma Technology for Sustainable Food Processing.

In a circular economy, products, waste, and resources are kept in the system as long as possible. This review aims to highlight the importance of cold plasma technology as an alternative solution to some challenges in the food chain, such as the extensive energy demand and the hazardous chemicals used. Atmospheric cold plasma can provide a rich source of reactive gas species such as radicals, excited neutrals, ions, free electrons, and UV light that can be efficiently used for sterilization and decontamination, degrading toxins, and pesticides. Atmospheric cold plasma can also improve the utilization of materials in agriculture and food processing, as well as convert waste into resources. The use of atmospheric cold plasma technology is not without challenges. The wide range of reactive gas species leads to many questions about their safety, active life, and environmental impact. Additionally, the associated regulatory approval process requires significant data demonstrating its efficacy. Cold plasma generation requires a specific reliable system, process control monitoring, scalability, and worker safety protections.

Conventional and non-conventional disinfection methods to prevent microbial contamination in minimally processed fruits and vegetables.

Pandemic COVID-19 warned the importance of preparing the immune system to prevent diseases. Therefore, consuming fresh fruits and vegetables is essential for a healthy and balanced diet due to their diverse compositions of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and bioactive compounds. However, these fresh products grew close to manure and irrigation water and are harvested with equipment or by hand, representing a high risk of microbial, physical, and chemical contamination. The handling of fruits and vegetables exposed them to various wet surfaces of equipment and utensils, an ideal environment for biofilm formation and a potential risk for microbial contamination and foodborne illnesses. In this sense, this review presents an overview of the main problems associated with microbial contamination and the several chemicals, physical, and biological disinfection methods concerning their ability to avoid food contamination. This work has discussed using chemical products such as chlorine compounds, peroxyacetic acid, and quaternary ammonium compounds. Moreover, newer techniques including ozone, electrolyzed water, ultraviolet light, ultrasound, high hydrostatic pressure, cold plasma technology, and microbial surfactants have also been illustrated here. Finally, future trends in disinfection with a sustainable approach such as combined methods were also described. Therefore, the fruit and vegetable industries can be informed about their main microbial risks to establish optimal and efficient procedures to ensure food safety.